Deaton encourages faculty to turn in book orders early

Many faculty members are unaware of how their orders affect textbook costs.

By Belinda Kocen

Published Oct. 20, 2008

The Course Advisory Materials Committee is beginning a program to help save students money on textbook costs for next semester.

In order to make the faculty aware of the benefits of getting their textbook requisitions turned into the University Bookstore, Chancellor Brady Deaton sent out a mass e-mail to MU faculty on Thursday.

In the e-mail, Deaton said faculty could help students benefit financially from early information about course materials. He also reiterated that the orders are due by Oct. 31.

Faculty Council member Victoria Johnson said that because the chancellor sent out the e-mail, students will see more faculty members putting in requisitions on time.

"Hopefully we will see an increase in how much the students get when selling back their books if more faculty can get their requisitions in on time," Johnson said.

Deputy Provost Ken Dean received the draft of the e-mail from Student and Auxiliary Services spokeswoman Michelle Froese last week. He said he reviewed it and met with officials from the chancellor's office before it was forwarded to the faculty.

"Hopefully the e-mail will cause faculty to act in a fashion so that students will have a chance to sell their books back here or give them a chance to buy them from other places," Dean said.

Many faculty members were unaware of the impact they have with their textbook orders, Johnson said. She said that even though this is a topic the bookstore has been trying to communicate, many faculty simply did not realize that students can get more money from textbook buybacks if the requisitions are put in on time.

The e-mail from Deaton gave three key ways book orders that are sent on time can save students money. The first, he said, is the University Bookstore can pay students 50 percent of the new book price if the same book is going to be used again. He also said on-time orders increase the availability of lower priced used books for future students, as well as giving students more time to research alternative sources for the course materials.

"Last year, students saved $4.6 million through used books and buyback programs offered through the University Bookstore," Deaton said in an e-mail.

Besides encouraging the faculty to submit their textbook requisitions on time, Johnson said she is starting to work on ways to get faculty to think about adopting a book to use for three years. If faculty members adopt a book for multiple years, it might help with the textbook rental program. The problem is that a lot of faculty members don't teach the same class every semester, so they would have to adopt a book to use for every other semester.

"This idea will work for some faculty and for others it won't," Johnson said. "The most important thing is still the content of the books and what is needed for the class."

Johnson said she would be working with the Student Affairs Committee within the Faculty Council in order to communicate with the faculty the importance of a textbook rental program.