Campus store and faculty want to do what’s best for students. Despite the shared goal, there are often challenges when it comes to course material adoptions. Both groups are busy, each face their own deadlines and the store’s timeline for faculty adoptions may not always match with faculty’s preferred timeline. Strengthen your campus store’s faculty communication to improve student affordability and options.
4 Strategies to Effectively Communicate With Faculty
1. Be brief and direct
Communication with faculty should always be clear and concise. Make your messages short, scannable and easy to digest. Faculty members are likely to be very busy between working with students, serving on committees and a myriad of other responsibilities. Share the information faculty need as clearly as possible. More than likely if faculty read emails from the store, it is at a glance. When you are sending them email communications, make sure that the most important 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.
2. Simplify processes and provide instructions
Take steps to ensure the processes you are asking faculty to perform, like submitting next term’s adoptions, are simple and have easy to follow instructions. Give clear guidance on how to submit their adoptions online or directly to you. Also, 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.
3. Create a communication plan
Set up a standard communication plan for faculty that your store can follow year to year. Consistent communication makes it more likely faculty will anticipate when they need to have certain information turned into the bookstore. An example plan might include an early term reminder about the upcoming adoption deadlines and why on-time adoptions matter. After the initial email, plan to send another reminder to all faculty who have not submitted their adoptions every two weeks, increasing the tone of urgency as the adoption deadlines near. Having a set schedule makes it harder for faculty to forget or ignore their deadlines. If adoptions still aren’t made by the deadline, make sure the store has its next course of action already planned. You might email the deans, letting them know what courses still do not have an adoption and how that can negatively impact student costs.
4. Remind faculty why on-time adoptions matter
Lower costs — With a variety of formats, 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 low-cost options which ensures 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 backorders and/or not have their materials in time for class which can impact their grade and ability to keep up.
Better buyback prices — 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.
More books in stock — 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.
