UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Did you know for nearly 20 years, Penn State has been a leading school in offering newspaper subscriptions to its students? The Penn State Student Newspaper Readership Program (SNRP), a unit of Student Affairs, encourages newspaper readership among students at University Park and all of Penn State’s Commonwealth Campuses by providing them with access to daily newspapers at no additional cost with a student ID.

Penn State faculty who participate in the program by requiring newspaper readership as part of their coursework can receive a daily subscription of that paper for free. In addition, faculty will receive access to online classroom resources, case studies, and additional teaching support materials made available by The New York Times and USA Today.

Faculty interested in receiving the free newspapers for use in their classrooms should email the Penn State Student Newspaper Readership Program at newspapers@psu.edu and provide their contact information, office address, and a copy of the course syllabus requiring student newspaper readership as an email attachment. The New York Times and USA Today are available at most Penn State campuses. The Centre Daily Times is available as a local paper at University Park. Not all local papers at other campuses offer faculty subscriptions.

At University Park, students can get copies of The New York Times, USA Today, Centre Daily Times, and the Daily Collegian in the residence halls and in newspaper kiosks across campus. In addition, students can access the Buzz app (available in the App Store and Google Play). The app, offered through a partnership with USA Today, combines the newsfeeds of USA Today, the Daily Collegian and Penn State News to create a unique blend of national, local and university news on their smartphones.

Penn State was one of the first universities to bring national and local newspapers to its students and has always valued the power of reputable news as a classroom tool. Students can gain tremendous skills by making newspaper readership a daily habit. Not only do students get exposed to highly reputable news sources, but they also read a broad range of topics, current events and issues.  

If you are unsure how to incorporate the newspaper into your course, The New York Times provides a list of “50 ways to teach with current events.” This semester, encourage students to read the newspaper and be engaged. No matter what class, subject or major, every Penn State student can benefit from picking up a paper.

For more information, visit the SNRP website.