By AUSTIN MORTON, Senior Reporter
Though some college students may see textbooks in a negative light, the Northwestern bookstore has students’ best interest in mind, university officials say.
The campus bookstore is managed by the company Follett, which specializes in different campus necessities, including textbooks.
Michelle Kingcade is the manager of the campus bookstore, and she has had that role for six years. She is overseen by Dr. David Pecha, the university’s vice president for administration, who acts as the campus liaison to Follett.
University officials spoke to the News about the bookstore’s operations after students voiced their concerns about bookstore service.
Kingcade said she works to ensure that each class has the textbooks it needs before the semester starts. Four to six weeks before the semester starts, she will work to stock bookshelves.
She begins by reviewing how many textbooks each class purchased the previous year. Using that number, she determines how many she will need to order for the following semester.
To ensure students receive their books on time, Kingcade recommends students order their books when the financial aid period opens up two weeks before the semester starts.
“I have to anticipate it,” Kingcade said. “I look at what we sold last time and use that to gauge how many I need to get.”
Textbook prices are another area where Follett tries to help students, Kingcade said.
Follett offers a price match with Amazon and Barnes & Noble. As long as a student shows Kingcade the textbook price from one of those websites, she will ensure that the textbook Follett sells is the same price.
The program buyback applies mostly to textbook purchases, and the books must have matching ISBN numbers.
For students who prefer an online option, Follett also offers a platform called Cengage Unlimited. At a cost of $250, students would have access to all Cengage textbooks in one online home.
The bookstore also offers a buyback program based on the need of a textbook. If a professor will use the same textbook the next semester, the bookstore will be able to buy the textbook from previous students.
Kingcade said she is also aware of the base price for textbooks and how much they cost.
The bookstore provides textbooks within the national average, which sees an increase of 15% to 20% each year.
“I was a college student once,” Kingcade said. “If possible, I would love to save every student thousands of dollars.”