Textbook Adoptions

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). 

Supplemental/Graduate/Distance Learning Textbooks, Workbooks, and Other Printed Materials

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

• You can either fill out the online textbook request form or fill out and return a hardcopy of the form to the WCU Bookstore. The person initiating the request must fill in all required information. WCU Bookstore personnel can also assist faculty in obtaining this information by telephone or email.
• Faculty members may require the use of supplemental workbooks, other printed materials, CDs, or codes for online materials, in addition to the adopted textbook. Please be considerate of the financial demands that those types of purchases impose on students. Care should be given to assure that the use made of such supplemental materials in a course justifies their expense to the students.
• If special supplies are needed for any course, the supplies should be listed in an email and sent to Jennifer Thomas, [email protected], or Matthew Jackson, [email protected].

Desk Copies

• The source for desk copies is the publisher. Textbook publishers will provide desk copies to instructors who complete a standard desk copy request form online from the publisher. Publishers will only honor requests received from instructors and will only send desk copies directly to instructors.
• Should your desk copy fail to arrive before the start of your 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 or a rental fee.
  • If a faculty member sends a request form to a publisher and the publisher refuses to provide a desk copy, the WCU Bookstore can issue a faculty loan to the faculty member on an extended loan basis.

Book Rental

Before each semester, the WCU 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.

Only one rental textbook per course may be adopted and issued. Pilot programs or other initiatives may modify the number of materials or format of materials offered. These programs will be reviewed and introduced through the Textbook and Course Materials Committee and any updated criteria will be shared with faculty. Book Rental may decline to offer a rental textbook for a special topics course(s) in which the book is revised annually, the textual content is consumed during its utilization, and/or the course is offered only once during the textbook's two-year adoption.

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, which you should make note of for future reference.

New Rental Textbook Adoption

New textbook adoptions will be for at least two full academic years (four semesters and two summer school terms). The economics of the textbook rental system depend upon repeated use of the books in inventory. Therefore, within the 2-year adoption period, it is expected that the course(s) utilizing the adopted textbook will be offered at least two 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, an exception to the policy may be requested.

Faculty Exceptions and Procedures for Exceptions

Exceptions are subject to availability of funds and are not made for multiple-section courses. Criteria for exceptions have been established by a Textbook and Course Materials Committee whose membership includes faculty, staff, and students. The WCU Bookstore will consider requests for exceptions on a first-come, first-served 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

To request an exception, please note the following:

• 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)
• The Department will be notified by the Bookstore Manager of the final decision.
• The new edition must then be used for any remainder of the old edition's adoption period plus its own two-year minimum adoption period.