The University Bookstore has partnered with Chegg to lower the cost of textbooks for students. This is just one of several new features designed to lower costs and improve the quality of life for students.
The Chegg.com website provides textbook rental services, and allows students to buy and sell textbooks online. According to their website, the company has provided discounts worth more than $250 million in total.
One of the first new features was the addition of the “My Textbooks” option on students’ online MyCSULB account.
“You get the textbook information and now the students can buy direct,” director of communication for the Forty-Niner Shops Rosa Hernandez-Henderson said by phone. “This gives [students] more options.”
Hernandez-Henderson also commented on the success of the operation.
“We’ve already got more than 35,000 hits. Our sales have gone up and students are happier,” she said.
This is also the first semester that students have the option of renting their textbooks instead of buying them.
“Starting this semester, students can choose to rent their textbooks, saving students hundreds of dollars,” said Fred Neely, director of the university bookstore, via email. “Chegg offers over 2,500 CSULB titles and comes with a 30-day ‘any reason’ guarantee. If a class is canceled or a student drops a class, they will be able to return the book — hassle free.”
Students have the option to rent books from the MyCSULB website or in the bookstore.
The University Bookstore option requires students to go to the bookstore and use iPads provided to seek out their books.
The process involves scrolling through different departments, finding the correct class and viewing the often-discounted book rental rate.
If a student wishes to rent their books, they follow standard ordering procedure.
Many students are in favor of Chegg’s rental option.
“I don’t keep my books [when the semester’s over],” said Stacey Nguyen, a senior business management major. “My accounting book is required and it’s really expensive — all the rest I’m renting.”
Nguyen praised Chegg, citing that the ordering was “very fast and convenient. You find the books right away.”
In 2004, the California Legislature and the governor approved legislation that urged book publishers to offer cheaper textbooks whenever possible and encouraged campus faculty and bookstores to do likewise and to generally pursue more economical textbook pricing practices. Among the options available to faculty are:
- Adopting the least expensive edition of books they wish to use.
- Using the same book and edition as long as it remains pedagogically appropriate.
- Telling students the probable cost of books and materials for their class.
- Reviewing textbook adoption timelines and procedures with the campus bookstore.
- Working with publishers and bookstores if bundles are necessary to ensure that they are economically sound.
- Adopting texts and materials in a manner that allows students to buy parts of a bundle.
- Developing course packs (course readers).
“The faculty has already been supportive of this program [because of] its inexpensive prices for students,” said Hernandez-Henderson. “There have been some issues with ordering. If a class gets cut, you have to do a late order and that changes the variable.”
Textbook ordering is still an ongoing process that changes depending on class sizes and availability.
“Every department office handles [orders] differently,” Hernandez-Henderson said. “In March and October of every year, we take in the requisition [for textbooks] and help publishers correct their stock.”
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