My institution has a bookstore. As the program director I have the textbooks ordered through the bookstore one semester in advance of the course offerings. I also keep at least one desk copy in our department library. This year I had a student who found out at the beginning of Spring semester that her financial aide had run out. I let her borrow the desk copy for the beginning of the semester until she gathered enough money to purchase the book.
Last summer, I got books ordered for the Fall semester. The bookstore manager forgot to order one of the books and the error was not found out until the day of class. The instruct used the college online learning system to post the necessary information from the book until the books came in for the students to purchase. The situation was not ideal, but at least the students had some way of accessing the necessary information.
We send Booklist to our students 1 month in advance. This allows time for them to search for used books and discounts.
Once the student enrolls in our virtual program they are given access to their materials via the portal. If requested, we will mail hard copy materials via UPS.
Once a student is enrolled they recieve all books & materials at an orientation the day before the first day of class to ensure the new student has everything needed for the course. It also allows the school to go over policies and procedures, aalong with open dialog with the students. Eveyone is excited and on the same page which makes for a good environment.
Our school enrolls one pre-determined day a month for our TIV eligible programs -- Cosmetology and Full Specialist -- usually it is the first or second Tuesday of each month, since we are not open on Mondays.
We are a small school and I wear many hats -- FAA and requisition specialist, as well as more that I will not enumerate in this forum.
This month my time was taken up with IPEDS reporting prior to our day of enrollment, and no one checked on the status of our texbooks and other supplies. We order texts from the book publisher and kit materials from another supplier, and these costs are included in the program cost. When a student is enrolled they are given a uniform, which is also included in the cost of materials and billed out to the student at the time of enrollment. The textbook is generally given to the student the first day of attendance and the kit of materials by the second day.
On enrollment day we did not have the new textbooks for the Full Specialist program and the instructor brought all the books she had from home and we found a few "used" books that students had previously returned. This did not make our school look "professional" and I hope we do not have this issue again -- I think I will have a heart-to-heart with the requisition specialist and let her know this shouldn't happen again.
Program Integrity requires that Pell eligible students have access to course materials and books in a timely manner. How does your organization handle distribution of student materials? Share a time when you had to improvise and how well it worked in your classroom.
Aimee,
Hi! Considering the cost involved in the purchase of books and tuition do you find that students need additional time to pay for their books?
Cindy Bryant
We are not title IV funded as of yet, so students have to pay cash for their books currently.
Our organization will have the student pick up their first set of books from the bookstore here on campus. When the student is at the bookstore for the first time the bookstore manager will get the students information; from that point on the books are mailed directly to the student's home.
Our students whom recieve aid are available to have their books apart of thier packaged financial aid. As a result the students are able to pick up their books on the first day of class or they can have their books delievered to their homes, and or the school. This is a convient way to assist the students with obtaining books as they have a seamless transition of getting them without paying out of pocket.
We centralized our book distribution in the Business office. We distribute books and materials on the first day of class. We have a central hub book inventory room connected to the Business Office that enables us to seamlessly hand out books, which makes it very convenient, and also eases student anxiety on day one.
Jackie,
The e-id-cards are an excellent way to auto track supplies and attendance. I am assuming that your system automatically tracks inventory as well. thanks for contributing to the forum.
Cindy Bryant
The process is about the same on our campus. Our student ledgers are tracked through identification cards. The card is swiped for all books/supplies which subtracts the available funds previously put on the cards at registration.
Our students have the opportunity to purchase books and materials soon after they are registered for the class. The bookstore is always ready to go with all of the material needed for each class, so there is no down time. Money is readily available for the student when they are ready to make their purchase at the bookstore.
Kimberly,
Hi welcome to the forum. Thank you for sharing how your team manages the books and materials at your school.
Cindy Bryant
We order our books well in advance. In addition, our first week we are preparing our students for the permit preparation and there are handouts we have readily avaialbe. Also, if we need more permit books we can drive to the department of motor vehicles and get more at any time.
KIMBERLY ,
How would you handle a situation in the classroom if the books didn't arrive on time?
Cindy Bryant
On the first day of school our students are given their textbooks. Then the insturctors will review the textbooks in the classroom with the students when the appropriate topic is being discussed.
Darlene,
Thanks for your response. Students expect to receive materials in a timely fashion. If this is not delivered on time then the institution runs the risk pf being seen as less than professional. Great job!
Cindy Bryant
Richard,
This a great way to be resourceful. I can see this being helpful in two areas. First, having the students engaged from the very first day should promote strong retention. Secondly, it allows the school to order the books after the students are in class which cuts down on the bottom line.
Cindy Bryant
