12/13/2011 - Jackson, Miss.

As the semester draws to a close, students are busy preparing for final exams, making travel arrangements to go home for the holidays and selling their textbooks back for a little extra cash. Students at Mississippi Public Universities are also saying “Thank You” to the faculty members that have helped keep the cost of textbooks down for their students.

Organized by the Student Government Association presidents, students on the campuses of Mississippi’s eight public universities distributed printed materials and buttons and gave faculty members a pat on the back in observance of “Keep Books Cheap Appreciation Week.” Students are showing their appreciation to faculty members for the key role they play in implementing the policies passed by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning last year to help contain the cost of textbooks.

Adopted last year, the policy requires firm textbook adoption deadlines that, whenever possible, are at least 40 days before the end of the preceding semester. This helps increase the value of the books as students are selling them back at the end of the semester. The policy also requires faculty to indicate whether a textbook is required or recommended, or if an earlier edition is sufficient.

Under the policy, there is a minimum three-year adoption period for most lower-division courses and a minimum two-year adoption period for most upper-division courses. The policy strongly encourages that the same course material be adopted for all sections of a course.

“Keep Books Cheap Appreciation Week” focuses on thanking faculty members who keep cost in mind when assigning textbooks, try not to assign bundles, adopt early and attempt to use the texts for several years.

The textbook policy was adopted by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning to make it less expensive for students to purchase textbooks as they begin a course, more profitable to sell the books back as they complete a course and make college more affordable so more students will be able to stay in school and graduate.

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The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning governs the public universities in Mississippi, including Alcorn State University; Delta State University; Jackson State University; Mississippi State University including the Mississippi State University Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; Mississippi University for Women; Mississippi Valley State University; the University of Mississippi including the University of Mississippi Medical Center; and the University of Southern Mississippi.

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