eCampus Textbook Adoptions

Part 1: Preparing to Submit Textbook Adoptions

• The Mount’s official textbook supplier is eCampus. Textbook adoptions are submitted in FAST, which is the eCampus textbook adoption system.


• All required course materials must be submitted in FAST. If a textbook is listed as required in your syllabus, you must submit an adoption in FAST.
   
• Sign into FAST with your Mount email address and the password you created when you first logged in to submit adoptions. If you don’t know your password, use the “Forgot Password" link on the sign-in page. If you need help with logging in, contact Scott Lloyd: Scott.Lloyd@msj.edu.
   
• Every effort should be made to comply with the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. As such, faculty should be ready to submit their textbook adoptions prior to the beginning of student registration each semester.
   
• If you need assistance with using FAST, a PDF guide is available. 
   
• Remember, the Mount Library can help you explore textbook affordability options. For example, we can check on the availability of library institutional ebook licensing for textbooks. As a general rule, the Library can’t purchase licensing for e-textbooks from publishers like Pearson, Macmillan, McGraw-Hill, or Cengage. However, we can purchase licensing for ebooks from many other publishers. If you would like to check if the textbook for your course is available as an ebook, contact Scott Lloyd: Scott.Lloyd@msj.edu. We can also help you search for OER textbooks or other course materials.
   
• If your department wants to create a custom bundle of textbooks for a program, or otherwise has a special ordering situation, contact Scott Lloyd or Ruth Monnier for assistance.

Part 2: Submitting Textbook Adoptions

• When you log into FAST, you should see a list of your courses for the upcoming semester. If you need switch to another semester, then use the semester pull-down menu below the search box. 
• No required textbooks: First, if you have any courses that will not have required textbooks, click on the sliding button next to the course that says, “TBD.” When you click on it, a green sliding button with "No Text" will appear. Then click "Update Fields" at the bottom of the course list. The course is now marked as "No Textbook Required." Repeat this process for any other courses or sections of a course that will not require textbooks.
• For a “No Textbooks” course, you can still add comments to the course by opening the course and clicking on the “Add Course Comments” button at the bottom of the page.
• Adopting Textbooks in FAST: To adopt textbooks for a course, first open the course by clicking on it. If you already have the ISBN for the textbook, click on the blue “Add Adoption” button and place the ISBN in the box. Also, select the "importance" of the textbook (required, optional, recommended etc.) If the book you searched for is not in the eCampus catalog, a request form will appear on screen. Fill out the request form to request that eCampus add the textbook to their catalog. An eCampus representative should contact you to let you know when the book has been added.
• Desk Copy: After you add a textbook adoption to your course, you will see a button labelled "Request Desk Copy." Click on this button if you would like eCampus to contact the publisher on your behalf for a desk copy. Please Note: many publishers only provide electronic desk copies, so please be aware you may not be given a choice of receiving a print copy.
• If you don’t know the ISBN, click on the “search catalog” button. After you have selected a textbook for your course, click on the “Save” button at the bottom of the screen.
• Adoption History: If you are teaching a course in the spring that you taught in the fall, your previous textbook adoption(s) should be available by clicking on the “Adoption History” button.
• If you have added textbooks to your adoption page but aren’t ready to make your selections final, then keep the checkmark next to the option that says, “Textbooks to be Determined.” As long as that option is checked, students cannot see your textbook selections on the eCampus bookstore website.
• If you wish to see how your textbook adoption information will appear on the student bookstore site, click the “Preview” button at the top of your course page. You' will then see the page for your course on the MSJ eCampus bookstore website. 
• OER Textbooks: If you are adopting an open-access textbook, an ebook from the MSJ Library ebook collection, or any other resource that would be free for students to access, you can communicate that to your students through the “Course Comments” window in FAST. To add a comment, click on the “Course Comments” button at the bottom of the screen. Here is boilerplate language for the course comment: "This course uses an OER textbook, which if freely available in digital format at [insert URL]." Feel freed to add additional information about the textbook if needed.  The value of entering this information in FAST is that students will see your message when they look at the course schedule in myMount, and it will let them know your course is using free textbooks. If you are adding an OER textbook, such as a textbook from OpenStax, you can also use the OER "toggle switch" on your course to indicate that you are using OER course materials. This helps communicate the Mount's affordability initiatives to students. 
• Alternatively, if you are using an open-access textbook from an OER publisher such as OpenStax, you can add the ISBN of the print version as a textbook adoption, so that students who want a print copy can purchase one through eCampus. Then, in the “Book Comments” window next to the image of the textbook, enter a message that says something like, “A digital copy of this open-access textbook is available for free at this link,” and paste the link so your students may access the book.
• MSJ Library eBooks: If the MSJ Library provides free ebook access to a textbook you've adopted, then use the book comments box to inform students of the ebook's availability. You can use this boilerplate language for the comment: "An ebook copy of this book is also freely available from the MSJ Library: [insert URL]."
• Older Editions of Textbooks: you may choose to adopt an edition of a textbook previous to the current one, but please keep in mind that supplies of older editions may be limited, which means students may not be able to obtain a copy of the textbook.
• Availability of Textbooks: if eCampus experiences trouble with sourcing the textbook you adopted, a representative of eCampus will email you regarding the problem and recommend alternatives.