Reminder of Textbook Ordering Deadline for Summer 2013 Term

This is a reminder of the February 15 deadline for ordering reading materials for your summer courses. In 2007 the Tennessee General Assembly passed a law designed to control textbook costs at Tennessee public colleges and universities. The book order deadlines of April 1 for fall semester, October 1 for spring semester, and February 15 for summer school need to be observed by all faculty members to meet legislative requirements.

The spirit behind the law is a good one: We all know that the cost of the materials we assign our students impacts their ability to succeed in college. This is why all of us already consider carefully the cost of books when crafting our required reading lists.

The University of Tennessee Bookstore works hard to meet its obligation of being a full-service provider of course materials for our students. The UT bookstore is particularly important for scholarship students who often depend on it as the only place that can accept their financial aid in a timely fashion and get books to them before the start of classes.

To speed the process, the UT Bookstore has added an online faculty adoption feature on their website. Faculty members and department coordinators can submit book requests electronically, saving time and paper. The bookstore will continue to accept book requests via hand delivery, campus mail, and fax, but encourages faculty to use the online method.

Some students find lower prices online, in used bookstores, etc. Some faculty members encourage them to do so. If you will be encouraging your students NOT to buy from the bookstore, please note that on your book orders. The bookstore tries to stock the correct number of books, but it can lose money when the number of students purchasing at the bookstore is significantly lower than in past semesters. We need your help in accurately predicting orders and reducing waste so that we can keep costs to students as low as possible.

By February 15, when the majority of confirmed textbook requests have been entered, they will then be open to view on the bookstore website. This means that students will be making buying decisions based on the information listed. Although there will be unavoidable changes, additions, and cancellations that will occur after February 15, we ask that you keep this date in mind when preparing your requests and make every attempt to send accurate, complete orders to which you are firmly committed. This will help to eliminate confusion and allow students to comparison shop with confidence using the information supplied through our website, as required by the Tennessee Legislature.

The legislation further states that when the publisher provides free examination copies of textbooks, these books are to be placed on library reserve or in a place of easy student access. I especially encourage you to donate these examination copies to the Office of Multicultural Student Life's Book Loan Program. Doing so will help us fulfill the letter of the law, but far more importantly it will help us meet the needs of students who find the cost of textbook purchases prohibitive.

Please deliver the books directly to the Black Cultural Center or contact Dametraus Jaggers, associate director for retention and student engagement, at 865-974-6861 or djaggers@utk.edu for alternative arrangements. For more information on the UT Bookstore's Online Faculty Adoption program, contact Shirley Streeter at 974-1047 or sstreete@utk.edu.

Thank you in advance for placing your book orders before February 15 and for considering providing your examination copies to the Office of Multicultural Student Life.