Faculty and bookstore staff are busy. Each has their own deadlines and sometimes those deadlines might not line up with each other. That’s why communication is key. 
Let’s look at the benefits of on-time adoptions, some methods to ramp up faculty communication and some basic tips for improving how your store effectively communicates.
Benefits of On-Time Adoptions
- Lower student costs
As you know, course materials can quickly become more complicated than most people expect. With a variety of formats and affordability programs, the price range for a single title can be significant. If faculty are willing to work with the bookstore, it is easier to provide students with more low-cost options which helps ensure everyone has affordable access to the materials that best fit their learning style. When adoptions are late or changed at the last minute, students will spend more, might have to navigate back orders and/or look for the materials elsewhere.
When discussing adoption deadlines with faculty, it may help to explain how the timing of the adoptions has real-world impact on students and their preparedness. - Maximize buyback prices
Another way early or on-time adoptions benefit students is by increasing the amount of money they can get for their current textbooks while also providing next term’s students with more low-cost options.
Take some time to simply explain to faculty how buyback works in relation to their adoptions. After the adoption is made for the next term, your store knows that there will be a demand for that inventory, meaning you will offer students a higher retail buyback value rather than the wholesale buyback value. Furthermore, receiving this end-of-term inventory helps lower acquisition costs for the following term, which contributes to lower student costs. - Fewer backorders
Late adoptions and last-minute changes not only cost students more money, but they also lead to a scarce supply. Stores need time to find the requested materials and have them shipped. Last minute changes often result in higher priced materials, higher shipping costs and delays in getting materials into student hands.
Back orders can also result in lost sales because students will look to online competitors for the materials, which introduces more challenges that students could face, including ordering/receiving the wrong books, long shipping delays and counterfeit materials.
Faculty Communication Methods
Lowering student costs must be a group effort. Here are some ideas your store can implement to reach faculty this term.
- Create a simple handout that explains the adoption timeline that can be passed out at faculty meetings.
- Contact each department chair and ask them to include adoption deadline reminders in departmental meetings.
- Try to have a one-on-one conversation with your hardest to reach faculty members.
- Use your store’s stats to show the difference in cost between on-time adoptions and last-minute changes. Share this with the person you report to, faculty, department heads, deans, and anyone on campus with a vested interest in lowering student costs.
- Create a series of email reminders for faculty that highlights why the deadline matters.
- If the deadline is close, ask faculty who haven’t submitted adoptions yet if they would like to adopt the same materials, specifying the materials they used before.
- If you still can’t get a reply, have a back-up plan like working with department chairs, deans or the provost.
Tips to Improve Faculty Communication
Here are a few tips that will prepare your store for effective faculty communication.
Be clear and concise
Make sure your communication with faculty is clear and concise. Faculty members are likely to be busy with students, serving on committees and a myriad of other responsibilities. Share the information faculty need as clearly as possible. Make sure that the most vital information stands out and catches the eye. Use formatting tools like bold, bullet points or sub-headers. Keep the tone polite and make sure deadlines are clearly visible in multiple locations.
Make things simple
Make sure the process to submit next term’s adoptions is simple and easy to follow. Give clear instructions about how to submit their adoptions online or directly to you. Also, if you can, include the information about the books they previously adopted for their courses and if there is a new edition of those texts. That way if they want to readopt or adopt the new edition, the information is at their fingertips.
Be consistent
Set up a standard communication plan for faculty. Consistent communication makes it more likely that faculty will begin to anticipate when they need to have certain information turned into the bookstore.
