COLUMBUS — Local universities will offer a textbook rental program starting this fall, in hopes of helping students save money.
Students also will have online access to the textbook prices.
Mississippi University for Women announced the new textbook options over the weekend.
The Bookend, the Follett-owned bookstore on MUW”s campus, is offering the textbook rental program for the first time.
Helana Allen-Robinson, store manager, said rent a text focuses on affordability and delivers another choice to students in acquiring their course materials. The program also helps students with their textbook expenses and also provides an additional option in production of educational materials students need for their academic growth.
At Mississippi State University, students will be able to rent or buy textbooks at Barnes & Noble, the university”s exclusive on-campus book seller, said MSU Assistant Vice President Bill Broyles. Renting books is also an option at The Campus Book Mart on Lee Boulevard, just off campus.
Barnes & Noble offered a pilot textbook rental program last school year, but this is the first time it will be offered at Mississippi State, Broyles said.
“We want our students to be able to save money any way possible on textbooks,” he said. “We are happy Barnes & Nobles is offering this program to our students.”
The most popular titles across higher education are available for rent. It is based on a simple rent, read, return model, Allen-Robinson explained, noting that sometimes buying used or a digital version works best for a student.
“The savings for rent a text is phenomenal,” she added. “For example, if you purchase the Microsoft Office Excel 2007 textbook for BU 160 E01 at our campus bookstore the new price is $117.25 and the used price is $88, but to rent, the price is $52.76. That is more than 50 percent in savings if you would have bought it new.”
And students can price check online before they hit the bookstore.
“Students can view the textbook information for any course that requires books online via a link from the course schedule to the bookstore,” said Dr. Martin Hatton, Mississippi University for Women interim associate vice president for academic affairs. “A textbook”s ISBN identifies that book and is needed when comparing prices.”
International Standard Book Number, or ISBN, is a 10-digit number that uniquely identifies books and book-like products published internationally, according to the ISBN website.
The changes “are designed to give students the greatest flexibility in options when selecting course texts,” Hatton added. “This is all about improving student choices.”
These new options are part of a federal law requiring publishers to provide textbook price information to professors. The new law also asks colleges to identify course textbooks during registration with hopes of giving students more time to shop around.
Dr. Hank M. Bounds, commissioner of higher education, said, “The board of trustees and I hope the changes to the textbook adoption policy approved by the (College) Board in February will have a positive impact on our students and their pocketbooks.
“The changes are designed to make it less expensive for students to purchase textbooks as they begin a course and more profitable for them to sell the books back as they end the course. Our goal is to make college more affordable so that more students will be able to stay in school and graduate.”
MUW Student Government Association President Brandon Newsome of Jackson said he was in awe when he first learned about all of the entities involved and their efforts to lower the cost of education for students.
“I”m excited to see the positive outcomes of this by allowing students time to know exactly what they need and give them the option of finding books off campus,” he said. “I believe this shows that they also understand the plight of students and are taking steps to help us.”
As part of its effort to educate students about SGA and the new policy, SGA has planned SGA Week/Textbook Appreciation Week for Aug. 30-Sept. 3.
Flyers with instructions on how to review course textbooks online will be posted during registration, or visit http://muw.edu/publicaffairs/reviewtextbooks.pdf.
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