FAQ for Faculty
Fall
- Course Scheduled to Registrar: February 15
- Course Materials to Bookstore: April 1
Spring
- Course Scheduled to Registrar: September 1
- Course Materials to Bookstore: October 1
Summer
- Course Scheduled to Registrar: January 15
- Course Materials to Bookstore: March 1
Log in to the faculty MyMercer portal and click External Links from the menu on the left. Click Bookstore Course Material Submission.
Please use the faculty training guide and related YouTube videos for step-by-step instructions on how to place your order:
You can let the bookstore know that you would like to explore the possibility of having your courseware or even eBooks delivered through Canvas either by emailing a member of the bookstore textbook team directly or making a notation in the “Note to Bookstore” field in the bookstore portal during your original submission. A bookstore team member will then check compatibility and get back with you with confirmation of eligibility. The bookstore team will then work directly with the publishers to help with the integration steps.
If your course does not require textbooks or other course materials, you must confirm in the bookstore portal. If you have a large series of courses that need to be flagged as no materials needed, please feel free to email the bookstore team a listing of what classes need to be flagged accordingly for that term.
If courseware is delivered in Canvas, all students will have access to digital materials two weeks prior to classes beginning. After drop/add, the bookstore sends a list of accounts that opted out to the publisher. The students in question will then hit a paywall to finalize their purchases of the material.
If you have merged your class sections, please inform the bookstore as soon as possible. Merged class rosters will change the Canvas ID codes used for integrations which may result in interruption in student access until the programming is updated. Jerome Gratigny (gratigny_ja@mercer.edu) in Mercer IT can assist faculty with finding new Canvas IDs and/or you can use the steps below to find the information.
Canvas Custom Course ID Found in the Course URL
If there are multiple sections within a Canvas course, use the value that follows /sections/; if there is only one section, the section value will not be present, and you will use the value that follows /course/.
How to Read the URL to Get the Course ID
- Sample url: https://<;institutionname>.instructure.com/courses/832164/sections/1874496.
- Based on the sample url, the course ID is 832164 and the section ID is 1874496:
- Sample Alternate url: https://<;institutionname>.instructure.com/courses/84589/.
- Based on the sample alternate url, the course ID is 84589.
Information the Bookstore Team will need for merged courses
- Original context_title
- (Course Name or Course Title)
- Original canvas_course_id
- (The unique ID in Canvas)
- Merged context_title
- (Merged Course Name or Title)
- Merged canvas_course_id
- (The unique ID in Canvas)
All submissions are term and section code specific. If the section code changes, course materials do not automatically roll to the new course. That means a faculty whose course changed section codes will have a Pending submission in the new course. The submission for the previous/cancelled course will automatically drop from that current term.
Faculty should resubmit the order for the adjusted section code OR email the bookstore for assistance.
- Chris Blackwell, Manager (cblackwell@bncollege.com)
- William Letson, Textbooks–Macon (wletson@bncollege.com)
- Caleb Nelson, Textbooks–Atlanta (cnelson@bncollege.com)
Yes! The bookstore is typically notified of backorder status 14-21 days after the initial order to publishers. Once notified, the bookstore immediately emails the seated faculty member with recommendations on available digital or alternate versions. During the first week of classes, the bookstore notifies all faculty of pending orders or reorders that need to be processed, such as orders due to damaged goods, enrollment changes, or vendor shortages.
Bookstore staff cannot notify the faculty or speak about the payment status of student orders. If faculty inquire about a student order, the bookstore staff can only explain that the order is on back order/hold.
For out-of-print (OP) and old edition (OE) publications: If the bookstore is aware of the status, the book is flagged at the time of the order submission. Staff also routinely share listings with department contacts at the start of each course material gathering season. If an OP/OE order is submitted, a team member emails the seated faculty member with recommendations.
To keep prices as low as possible for students, University leaders decided to include required course materials only in the Bear Book Bundle. The rate per credit hour of the program is based upon what required course materials are included using enrollment/credit hour calculations each academic year. By limiting the Bear Book Bundle to required materials only, the University follows financial aid and scholarship guideline restrictions. Many scholarships (e.g., NCAA book scholarships for student-athletes) will only allow students to purchase required course materials.
For the recommended publications, the bookstore team orders 60% of the cap enrollment as only half of students enrolled in the course are anticipated to purchase optional materials. This practice helps prevent fiscal risk to the campus bookstore that operates on very thin profit margins on textbooks. The bookstore may adjust the percentage of cap enrollment based on two or more semesters of historical data.
Orders rely on the section code. If the section code changes, there is not an automatic roll of the ordered course materials from the old section code to the new one. Therefore, orders must be resubmitted with the new section code.
If the instructor changes for a class with a completed order, the new instructor will inherit the original course material submission. If the original submission is correct for the new instructor, no action is needed. If the order is incorrect for the new instructor, the department or instructor will need to update the course listing in the bookstore portal.
More and more publishers are adding eBooks to their catalogs. If you want to explore an eBook option, please contact the bookstore or your publisher rep about facilitating an eBook creation.
- Macon Campus Store: (478) 301-2945
- Atlanta Campus Store: (678) 547-6350
Direct email addresses for bookstore team members (vs. generic email box):
- Chris Blackwell, Manager (cblackwell@bncollege.com)
- William Letson, Textbooks–Macon (wletson@bncollege.com)
- Caleb Nelson, Textbooks–Atlanta (cnelson@bncollege.com)
Old editions are flagged in the bookstore portal at the time of the order submission. The bookstore emails the submitter and faculty about the possible difficulty of sourcing. If the order is submitted late, it is very difficult to find old editions.
Under the dean’s leadership, faculty will develop a process to regularly review new editions.
Barnes and Noble owns the largest wholesaler of used college textbooks in the nation and attempts to source these books from the wholesaler and other universities across the country. If the bookstore cannot obtain enough copies to meet the needs of your course, the bookstore will contact you immediately.
If the instructor is an adjunct, the department will pre-select the textbooks/course materials.
If a student gets an Incomplete, please contact the bookstore manager to make accommodations for the student.
Contact the bookstore by phone or email:
- Macon Campus Store: (478) 301-2945
- Atlanta Campus Store: (678) 547-6350
Faculty should use the direct email addresses for team members (vs. generic email box):
- Chris Blackwell, Manager (cblackwell@bncollege.com)
- William Letson, Textbooks–Macon (wletson@bncollege.com)
- Caleb Nelson, Textbooks–Atlanta (cnelson@bncollege.com)
- Stephen Jones, Events/Merchandise–Atlanta (vjones@bncollege.com)
Click here to read the Bear Book Bundle FAQ for Students.