Faculty Resources

Course Material Adoption Procedures

Three (3) times per year, department heads are asked to submit textbook and course material requests for adoption by the Bookstore. Adoptions are due prior to student registration each semester. 

  • Around the first week of March for All Summer Terms
  • Around the first week of March for Fall Term
  • Around the first week of October for Spring Term

Course Material Adoptions

  1. Course material requests should be submitted by the deadline established by the Bookstore for each semester. This ensures JSU is compliant with the federal government’s requirements for textbook adoption posting as stated in the Higher Education Opportunity Act. Adoption periods will last approximately 30 days to allow follow-up.
  2. Adoptions may be submitted through the Bookstore’s online Adoption & Insights Portal (AIP). AIP is a web-based platform built exclusively for faculty and department administrators that enables them to research and adopt course materials in one, convenient place. Powered by JSU’s student information system (SIS), AIP delivers a highly personalized, streamlined, action-oriented user experience.
    • AIP features a personalized Course List for Faculty to easily search, research, and submit their adoptions; a dashboard with Adoption Insights to track, monitor, and report on adoptions in real-time; and affordability recommendations as a complement or substitute to traditional course materials.
    • AIP is integrated with the institution’s Single Sign On (SSO) technology. A link to AIP will be available within the institution’s SIS. Faculty and administration will be able to click on the link and be authenticated with their institution credentials.
  3. “No text” adoptions are to be submitted as well, in compliance with the HEOA.
  4. Digital Adoption Options and OER
    • Digital publisher learning platforms and access codes (such as Mindtap, REVEL, Cengage Unlimited, WileyPLUS, etc) are to be adopted through the bookstore under the tradition textbook standards. While digital in nature, these materials are still course required “text” options.
    • Outside sourced learning platforms (such as Labster and Amplify) are to be implemented in conjunction with the bookstore. Please contact the bookstore manager directly for more information.
    • Faculty may request digital textbooks be added to the Bookstore’s inventory through Yuzu. Yuzu® is a learning platform, powered by VitalSource, which delivers an enhanced digital reading experience with access to a broad digital catalog.
    • The bookstore partnership with VitalSource allows students to access their digital content on the Yuzu eBook platform, powered by VitalSource, using their laptops, desktops, or mobile devices.
    • BNC OER+ Courseware is a fully customizable online learning platform that combines high quality OER with original content, expertly curated videos, a robust test bank, autograded quizzes, and instructional support to provide a complete course solution. Built in-analytics and reports provide faculty insights into the performance and activity of the class and help identify at-risk students. Instructors wishing to add OER+ Courseware to their course may contact the bookstore manager.
FirstDay™ and Instant Access through the LMS
Jacksonville State University has partnered with Barnes & Noble College as well as various major publishers (such as Cengage, Hawkes Learning, Jones & Bartlett, Macmillan, McGraw Hill, Norton, Pearson, and Wiley) to offer the FirstDay™ Program. The FirstDay™ Program allows students to receive their textbooks through Canvas. Students gain instant access to their textbooks with a savings of 20-50% or more off the national retail price!
  • Students enrolled in a course using “FirstDay™” will be automatically opt-ed into the program, and the applicable course fee will be assessed at registration. If a student chooses to drop from FirstDay™, they will have the option to select opt-out within Canvas. A refund will be issued after the final billing date.
  • Information on how to opt-out, may be reviewed on the "FirstDay™ Program" page
  • For information as to which titles are available as “FirstDay™”, please contact the bookstore. FirstDay™ adoptions may be submitted through the Adoptions & Insights Portal.

Textbook Options and Payment

  1. Currently, students have the option of purchasing traditional textbooks, purchasing/renting digital textbooks, or renting traditional textbooks from the Bookstore.
  2. More than 80% of titles are typically available in rental format. These textbooks cost approximately 90% less than new printed textbooks. Students can highlight text and make notes on pages throughout the semester – then when finals are over, return the book the Bookstore either in person or through the mail.
  3. Students using books scholarships are to shop in the campus bookstore. The bookstore allows students receiving a refund of financial aid to spend up to $1500 in the store, or applicable textbooks and supplies.

Textbook Returns

Books purchased from wholesalers must be returned within 60 days after the Invoice date. Publishing companies have various book return policies, ranging from no returns, to one year from time of purchase to return. Custom publishers allow a percentage of books to be returned, usually 20%. Therefore, books must be returned in a timely fashion in order to prevent books from becoming unusable. 

After midterm, all books are pulled from the shelf and returned to the publisher or wholesaler. Notices are emailed to faculty before this takes place. A record is kept of the returns and as credit memos are received, they are filed with the original invoices.


Textbook Buyback

The Bookstore has a perpetual buyback from the students. At the end of each semester during finals week, the Bookstore buys books back from the students with the help of a wholesale book company.

  1.  Books are purchased for the store stock based on textbook adoptions received and any book the Bookstore cannot use can be purchased by a wholesaler if it is a current book used by universities across the country. The Bookstore will ship the books bought at wholesale guide price to that distributor for monetary reimbursement. The choice of the Bookstore staff to make the purchase is determined by the factors involved in buyback and the needs of the Bookstore.
  2. Students receive cash for all textbooks sold back to the Bookstore. A valid JSU Student ID is required for buyback.
  3. Students on athletic scholarship may not participate personally in textbook buyback per NCAA regulations.

For more information, please contact: 

Kristi Webster, Bookstore Manager
 Barnes & Noble College
700 Pelham Road North, Jacksonville
sm278@bncollege.com
 F: 256.782.5283