What is the return policy of these online distributors?
Follett (www.follettbooks.com). Follett is a leading operator of college bookstores and a major distributor of textbooks. It operates a service called CafeScribe, which is a digital textbook platform; this is different from e-books, which are digital editions of traditional textbooks that students or faculty read on a computer, tablet, or smartphone. CafeScribe provides the ability for faculty and students to share notes and insights in 530line with the text, search the text for specific information, take notes directly in the text, bookmark places in the text, and highlight information.54
• Chegg (www.chegg.com). Chegg provides students with the ability to rent textbooks as well as buy new and used textbooks at a reduced cost. Students can also sell their books back to Chegg. It also offers homework help for many courses, scholarships, and course selection help. Chegg acquired several companies in 2010 and 2011: CourseRank, Cramster, Notehall, Student of Fortune, and Zinch.55
• VitalSource (https://www.vitalsource.com/). VitalSource provides eTextbook and digital learning tools. It provides both online and off-line access. It has a partnership arrangement with more than 50 publishers and offers more than 90% of the textbook market in higher education.56
What guidance should the school provide to learners in distance education courses with regard to acquisition of textbooks? For example, are these books that the student will need throughout their time in college? Depending on the answer, the students then must ensure that they are renting or using digital forms of the textbook that are available to them for the duration of their time in college. The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), discussed later in this chapter, mandates that students be provided with information about the required textbooks when they register for a course. What should they know about older editions? Are they acceptable or not? When will students actually need access to the textbooks? They may need certain textbooks immediately but may not need others until later in the course. Knowing this may help students balance the cost of textbooks. Will students need a code to access the textbook website? If so, does a used textbook come with the code or will the student need to buy that separately? Buying codes separately is generally more expensive and may not save students money when the used book costs and new code costs are combined. What is the return policy of these online distributors?