Faculty Resources (3)

  • The Course Materials Office is happy to assist faculty with any questions about the requisition process or course material options available to students. 

We are ready to help you find the best resources and maximize the learning process for your students by offering:

  • Negotiation Assistance with Publishers
  • Assistance finding course materials
  • Assistance finding and acquiring alternative content formats
  • Requisition assistance for textbooks
  • Requisition assistance for supplies and materials such as lab coats, goggles, dissection kits, and other supplies
  • Computer & Technology Department (BeachTech) that provides a variety of software and electronic needs for your classroom
  • University Art Store that can order any art related supplies for your classroom and accepts material lists throughout the academic year

 

For a first time instructor, selecting a textbook may be confusing. Below are some detailed tips on how you can select a textbook, which include:

  • Plan for Time
  • Check with Your Department or the Online Requisition Website
  • Look on Publisher Websites or Work with Publisher Representatives
  • Create Your Own Course Packets/Readers

Plan for Time

Generally, it is much harder to research new textbooks for the Spring semester, even though the Fall semester ends in December. Winter Break does not give adequate time to research a new textbook and notify the bookstore in time to get textbooks on the shelves by the first day of the Spring semester. We would not recommend adopting a new textbook for the Spring semester because of this.

What we do recommend is adopting a new textbook for the Fall semester. With the Spring semester ending in May, you will have two full months (June and July) to research a new textbook and notify the bookstore in time to get textbooks on the shelves by the first day of the Fall semester.

Check with Your Department or the Online Requisition Website

Our first recommendation is to check with your department. Many departments may already have learning objectives and syllabi set out for the class you will be teaching. Depending on the class, departments may have a list of textbooks that are currently being used or have already been used by other faculty.

The online requisition website has historical information. You can check to see if the class was taught in the past, and if so, see what textbooks were used for the class by other faculty.

Look on Publisher Websites or Work with Publisher Representatives

Major publishers have textbooks listed on their websites. You can search for books and request a desk copy for review. Researching/reviewing for new textbooks on your own can be a lot of work. Most times, it would be easier to connect you with a local publisher representative, who would be happy to help you in selecting a textbook, making the process much easier. Please contact the Course Materials Office if you would like to receive contact information for a publisher representative.

With major publishers, there is a trend towards digital interactive learning materials (MyLab, Revel, Connect, MindTap, WebAssign, etc.). These interactive learning products have proven to increase student-learning outcomes while helping the instructor with teaching materials including auto-graded assignments, quizzes, and exams.

Create Your Own Course Packets/Readers

A number of CSULB faculty have moved away from traditional textbooks and have created their own content to be produced and printed for sale by the Campus Copy Center. Course packets/readers can also include items/articles needing copyright permission, which the Copy Center can work on getting copyright permission for reproduction. If you are interested in creating your own course packet/reader, please allow the Copy Center 6-8 weeks for any copyright permissions related content.

Desk or examination copies must be requested by faculty or department administrators from the publisher. Below is contact information for some of the major publishers, and most have prompts specifically for requesting desk copies.

  • Cengage Learning: 800.842.3636
  • John Wiley & Sons: 800.225.5945
  • Macmillan Publishers: 888.330.8477
  • McGraw Hill Higher Education: 800.338.3987
  • Pearson Higher Education: 800.922.0579
  • W.W. Norton & Company: 800.233.4830

As a not-for-profit corporation, the 49er Shops are dedicated to faculty and student success, offering a wider variety of options and providing more programs than a typical for-profit Bookstore.

 Course Material formats offered at less than the publisher’s new list price:

  • Used, rental, used rental, digital e-book, course pack, loose-leaf, and integrated digital
  • Savings of up to 80% off of publisher’s new list pricing
  • Rental and digital materials account for the largest savings to students

Savings and service programs offered that are not available at many for-profit campus bookstores:

  • BeachBookCompare.com – integrated with MyCSULB; students see price and format options throughout the web from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Alibris, Valore, Abe Books, and more
  • Over $100,000 in course material scholarships to CSULB students annually
  • Lower markup
  • Negotiation assistance for faculty to push for better deals from publishers
  • Two weeks of free trial access with “guaranteed lowest cost” integrated digital materials (pilot)
  • Competitive textbook buyback using multiple in-store and wholesale buying resources
  • Employment of hundreds of Long Beach State students annually
  • Partner with the library and Affordable Learning Solutions group on free course materials
  • Campus support, capital improvement funding, donations, and other resource support totaling approximately $3M annually    

Charting our progress:

With all these money savings options now available, the average price CSULB students pay for each course material has dropped almost 22% from $61.38 per unit in fall 2011 to $48.03 in spring 2017. A student taking 12 units in 2011 might spend $368.28 per semester compared to $288.18 today. The savings is magnified even more when compared to inflationary pricing ($395.88 per semester). 

 

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graph showing lower textbook prices from 2011 to 2017