Adopting (Ordering) Course Materials

Ordering early allows for enough time to communicate with the Bookstore and publishers regarding pricing, formats, and additional learning resources to ensure cost transparency and support budgeting efforts.

Students visit the Course Search page prior to registration, expecting the Bookstore to have information concerning course materials for all courses. Placing orders early helps us provide them with accurate information.

• Help make sure materials are available before classes begin
• Helps students make informed course selections.
• Supports budgeting and transparency in academic costs.
• Enables an opportunity to work with the Bookstore and Publishers on additional learning resources.
• Enables communication on the formats available and pricing.

We cannot provide support to students or faculty members with those purchases.

Sponsored students have easy access to course materials through the campus Bookstore but not through external suppliers.

The Bookstore is the authorized supplier of paid course materials for students and provides a wide range of products and services for convenience on campus.

If a particular item is needed for a course or is going to be recommended for student use, the Bookstore can ensure we have the correct items on hand when your students require them. To do achieve this, please provide us the following information:

• All required texts
• Supplementary texts
• Reference texts
• E-books and access codes
• Required stationery items (such as calculators or journals)
• Safety Equipment (such as lab coats and glasses)
• Lab Manuals, Course Objectives, Outlines and other material printed by Printing Services. 

The Bookstore is open to discussing all situations and will work with you to minimize costs to all parties when items are ordered that do not follow standard business practice or which require special permissions. Please reach out to LuAnne Kelly, Bookstore Manager to discuss alternatives and solutions.

1. Materials Printed on campus will be returned to the department if not assigned to a course in the current term. All expenses incurred with printed materials are the responsibility of the ordering department.
2. If orders are to be rush shipped due to late department ordering or increased ceilings, the air shipment charges are a departmental responsibility.  Approval for these charges will be necessary before rush shipments are ordered through publishers. There will be no additional charges for ground shipments but this will delay the availability of the books for students.
3. There are departmental charges when courses are cancelled or when instructors or sections have changed.  If books have been delivered for a course that is subsequently cancelled or changed, the department is responsible for the shipping charges in the delivery and return of those books and all other expenses that may arise due to the change, such as publisher restocking fees or items being non-returnable.  We always ask for notification of cancelled courses and professor or section changes so that the information we pass to students is accurate.  We have also been checking Banner registrations to identify cancelled courses and department notices will be sent to notify of the charges incurred. In the event that the book will be used in an upcoming semester, please notify the Bookstore of this when you are cancelling a course. We do not want to return books or charge for shipping if there is a commitment to use the book.
4. All non-returnable books (through publisher policy and/or custom publications) will require the department’s acceptance of financial responsibility for unsold copies after the full life cycle of the book.  In these cases a notice will be sent to the coordinator advising of non-returnable and custom publications before orders are placed.  This can delay the ordering process so identifying those items as early as possible is essential.  In some cases, alternate titles may need to be selected if publishers no longer accept returns.
5. Re-stocking fees are being introduced by many small publishers and distributors.  Whenever possible, we will notify departments that restocking fees may be incurred if materials are not fully sold throughout the life cycle of the adoption.  If returned items incur a restocking fee during the publisher returns process, departments will be responsible for these expenses.

The Online Course Adoptions (OCA) is a web-based course materials ordering platform that is auto-populated from Banner.

• Faculty members can select course materials for their courses and notify the Bookstore through our website.
• OCA can be accessed from anywhere, enabling professors and instructors to order course materials at the most convenient times for them.
• Materials used in previous semesters are listed in OCA, making it easy to adopt the same materials again.
• Coordinators can assist Faculty members by submitting orders on their behalf.

For an in-depth explanation of the Online Course Adoption process, please review the OCA Guide.

Online Course Adoption

Minimizing errors when submitting the Course Materials Adoption Form ensures we have all the information we need in order to ensure course materials arrive on time for students. Contact txtbks@mun.ca with any questions or concerns, or to discuss and source what you need.
Please follow the steps below to submit your course materials order:

1. Open the form (click to download) and carefully follow the steps to complete all fields on the tab titled Order Form - Dept to complete:
2. Indicate at the top if NO course materials will need to be purchased by students OR
3. If course materials are needed, please make sure to:
   1. Include ISBNs, titles, editions, etc. in the bottom portion.
   2. Indicate whether it is required or suggested
   3. Indicate if a publisher access code will be needed for assignments or grades.
   4. List any required/suggested supplies (lab coats, goggles, calculators...)
      • These can also be added to the online course listing as required or suggested.
4. Completed order forms can be emailed to txtbks@mun.ca
   1. When an order is received, an automated email confirmation will be sent.
   2. If you do not receive an email confirmation within a day or so, please call 709-864-4409 to make sure that we received your order. 

Please maintain the headings and formatting, using "Wrap Text" if the field requires a lot of information. Detailed information can be found below, under “Field Explanations.” 

Some information is better than none! In the case of custom publications, orders are needed even earlier than those for pre-produced books. If you cannot submit a complete order by this date, forward what you can and send the balance of your requirements as soon as possible.  

We will allow one form for multiple sections if ALL the course materials and professor information is identical. Please include all section numbers that are applicable.
If a course is continued from one semester to the next, an order form is needed for each semester to ensure the books are properly labeled for students and not returned to the publishers.

This is done to ensure that materials are appropriately assigned for the upcoming course and that we are providing students with up-to-date information for all of their course needs.
Materials not assigned to their appropriate course are at risk of being returned to the publisher or designated for a different course.

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Additional information: 

• Coordinators, please copy the instructor(s) on the email for all orders. We want to ensure that the items being ordered match the expectations of the professor. By copying instructors on the same email, we hope that any errors will be caught before orders are placed. Emails will be accepted from the email address of the departmental coordinator or instructor with the approval of the Department Head being understood.
• Price for students should be a consideration when selecting course materials so there is no surprise when the course begins. The Bookstore will notify the department when an item being ordered is going to cost students more than $200.  
• The Bookstore must be advised immediately of courses or sections being added and of course or title cancellations. Information must also be shared as soon as possible when there are enrollment or expected enrollment changes. Please communicate at your earliest convenience any Instructor changes, or decisions to change editions of current texts, or to introduce new texts. The Bookstore can assist students much more effectively when we are equipped with the correct information.

For more detailed information and instructions, please visit the instructions page.