Course Material Adoption and Access

Information for faculty on bookstore adoptions, library licensing of course materials, ensuring accessibility, Open Educational Resources, and more.

MCLA Bookstore

MCLA, along with many other state campuses, contracts with Follett for a campus bookstore and textbook adoptions.

All required course materials must be reported to Follett before the start of each semester -- ideally, before course registration opens for that semester. When this is not possible, as much advance notice as possible ensures that Follett will be able to stock items in time for the start of classes.

The bookstore is located in the Campus Center. The Bookstore Manager can be reached at 0185mgr@follett.com or 413-662-5240.

Textbook adoption has never been easier!

Faculty can now report their course adoptions, or the fact that they are not requiring students to purchase course materials, via the Follett Discover tool that is readily available in the left-hand navigation in Canvas. 

Visit the CTL@MCLA Guide to learn more.

6 important reasons to report your course adoptions (or lack thereof)

  1. Students who use financial aid vouchers to purchase course materials may only use these at MCLA's Follett bookstore. It is fine to make students aware that materials can be purchased less expensively elsewhere, but if you do not adopt the materials via the bookstore, students with financial aid vouchers will not be able to purchase them, or may need to wait days or weeks for a special order. 
  2. The library reviews all adoptions reported to the bookstore for possible addition to the collection. Many students find no-cost access to course materials via the library extremely helpful. If you do not report your materials to the bookstore, the library will not know to evaluate them for purchase.
  3. Textbook information can be made available to students at the time of registration, as required by federal law. The registration page for each course includes a direct link to the list of materials adopted for that course on the Follett bookstore website. Assuming that adoptions are reported prior to registration, this helps MCLA comply with the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which requires that textbook information be made available to students at the time of registration.
  4. The bookstore, the library, and Disability Resources can attempt to source accessible editions of adopted texts and have them ready for students by the first day of class.
  5. MCLA is required to report data on textbook costs and OER adoptions to the DHE each year. On our campus, the bookstore is the central repository of this data. This data helps guide policymaking toward greater equity for students; the closer we get to 100% faculty reporting of course adoptions to the bookstore, the more accurate and useful the data.
  6. If you aren't requiring students to purchase materials but simply never respond to the bookstore, students who check the bookstore for your course materials will see the message "Course Materials have not been determined. Check back soon for updates." If, on the other hand, you report to the bookstore that you are not requiring any books, or that no bookstore-supplied materials are required, or that you are using free Open Educational Resources, students will be informed accordingly, removing uncertainty. These "non-adoption" options will appear to you when you log in to Follett Discover, our bookstore's course reporting tool, which is available via Canvas.