Textbook Information
The Office of the University Registrar manages the process of communicating course textbook adoptions. The textbook adoptions are entered by Department or School staff based on information provided by their faculty. This generic textbook order form has many of the elements needed by staff to process the textbook adoption. Many departments and schools have their own internal form.
The process of textbook adoptions takes place in October for the Spring semester and in March for the Fall and Summer Semesters. The deadlines are set to allow sufficient time for bookstores to identify books that will be purchased during the buyback process and to provide adequate time for books to be ordered so they will be available on or before the beginning of classes.
The University Textbook Policy states that the textbook list is public knowledge and Illinois State may not enter into an exclusive contract for textbook sales with any one store. You can use the searches and reports found on the right of this page to find information on textbook adoptions.
Students can view class textbooks through My.IllinoisState.edu using the My Class Schedule page details button.
Information For Faculty
The rising cost of textbooks is a significant issue for students and their families. As a matter of university policy and in compliance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA) textbook provision, Illinois State University encourages faculty to be sensitive to the cost of materials chosen for their classes. Specifically, faculty should
- know the price of the textbooks selected;
- make timely decisions in order that textbook and supplemental material lists can be made available to students so that they can investigate various purchase options. Ideally, textbooks lists should be available for posting to students at the time of advance registration;
- investigate lower-cost options, for example, “unbundled” texts if ancillary materials will not be used, electronic versions, and on-line resources;
- when possible, use the same textbook in all sections of the same course;
- consider content changes between editions and retain older editions when appropriate. (Under the HEOA textbook provision, publishers must include information on substantial content revisions from previous editions with any information provided to faculty responsible for selecting textbooks.)
While the University encourages faculty to consider affordability, instructors are free to make the selections most appropriate to their subject and pedagogy.
The University has an obligation to make every effort to provide to students the following textbook information at the time of registration:
- title
- author
- publisher
- edition
- copyright and publication dates
- International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
- whether textbook or supplemental material is required or suggested.
