Textbook Adoptions

The information below will help guide Faculty through the process for submitting textbooks and course required materials to the bookstore.

There are two options for submitting textbooks, Supplemental/Graduate/Distance Learning Textbooks and Rental Textbooks. Each group has its own process outlined below.

If you wish to review the textbook adoption policies and procedures, you may do so here.

Please Note: Textbook costs are an ongoing issue with the UNC Board of Governors and have generated interest in on-time adoption rates within the system. On-time adoptions are important for bookstores to access the used book market and thus lower textbook costs. In addition, the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) requires that textbook information must be available to students at the time of registration. For more information, please see the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA).

The deadlines for placing textbook adoptions are:

• October 15th for Spring Semester
• March 15th for Summer Semester
• April 15th for Fall Semester

If the date falls on a weekend or holiday, requests will be due the next business day.

Supplemental/Graduate/Distance Learning Textbooks

You must submit Graduate/Supplemental/Distance Learning textbook each semester, there are no standing orders for purchase textbooks.

Please follow each step below to submit your textbook:

• Fill out the online textbook request form or you may fill out and return a hardcopy of the form to the WCU Bookstore.
• Once your course materials are adopted you will need to contact the publisher for a Desk Copy.
• Should your Desk Copy fail to arrive before the start of our course, you may request a faculty loan from the WCU Bookstore by filling out the Faculty Textbook Loan Request.
  • The WCU Bookstore will issue a faculty loan for an 8-week period at the beginning of the semester. There will not be a charge for the loaned textbook unless the book is not returned. If the textbook is not returned, the department will be charged the textbook replacement cost.
  • If the faculty member sends a request form to a publisher and the publisher refuses to provide a desk copy, the WCU bookstore will issue a faculty loan to the faculty member, and, if appropriate, will continue efforts to acquire a copy from the publisher. If it is determined that the publisher will not supply the requested desk copy, the faculty member may retain the Bookstore's copy on an extended loan basis.

Book Rental

Before each semester the bookstore will send a book rental departmental list to all department heads and secretaries. To continue using a textbook that is currently adopted in Book Rental the estimated enrollment expected for the upcoming semester must be entered on this sheet and returned to book rental by the due date. Department heads/secretaries are responsible for obtaining this data.

You can review your department’s current list of rental textbooks in the Department Book List. Please Note: You will need to enter your Banner ID Number and Pin Number, then click on Request Access. If this process does not gain you access please contact the IT Services Helpdesk at 7487.

• Once you have gained access to the Department Book List, select the appropriate prefix.
• When you have found your department’s current list of rental textbooks, click submit so that the bookstore will receive your request via email.
• You will be assigned a request number, please make note of this for future reference.

New Rental Textbook Adoption

As the economics of the book rental system depends upon repeated used of the books in inventory, new textbook adoptions will be for a minimum for 2 full calendar years Therefore, within the 2-calendar year adoption period, it is expected that the course(s) utilizing the adopted textbook will be offered at least 2 times.

Submit a New Textbook Adoption Request Form online or complete a downloaded copy here and return it to the WCU Bookstore.

Under this policy, if a new edition is published it cannot be substituted until the full adoption period has been fulfilled. If the course cannot be offered twice within the adoption period due to circumstances beyond the department's control and a new textbook adoption is deemed necessary, a request for exception may be submitted to the Bookstore Manager.

Faculty Exceptions and Procedures for Exceptions

Exceptions are subject to availability of funds and are not made for multiple-section courses. A Bookstore Advisory Committee whose membership includes faculty, staff and students has established criteria for exceptions.

The Committee will consider request for exception on a first-come, first-serve basis and in the following order of priority:

• Death of a faculty member assigned to the course.
• Retirement or departure of the faculty member assigned to the course.
• A faculty member new to WCU is assigned to the course.
• A new edition is adopted of a text whose previous edition is over 5 years old. The new edition must then be used for any remainder of the old edition's adoption period plus its own 2-year minimum adoption period.
• The book is revised annually.
• The textual content is consumed during its utilization.
• The course is offered only once during the textbook's 2-year adoption. In such instances, the text will be offered for sale at the WCU Bookstore.

To request an exception, you need to submit the following to the Bookstore Manager by the deadline for exceptions. Please Note: that this deadline is distributed along with the textbook adoption information.

• A completed Exception to Book Rental Adoption Policies form must be submitted to the WCU Bookstore by the deadline date. (please do not include a new book rental adoption form)
• Requests are considered on a first-come, first-serve basis by the Bookstore Advisory Committee and will be based on the priority of criteria and availability of funds.
• The Department will be notified by the Bookstore Manager of the final decision.