The Amherst College Textbook Solution (ACTS) will provide all enrolled students with the necessary textbooks and course materials required for classes.
This campus-wide program will serve the needs of faculty and students and create greater educational equity, as well as ensuring that the cost of course materials is never a barrier to taking a class. ACTS will start in the 2024–25 academic year.
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Program Quick Facts
- The textbook program will serve the needs of faculty and students and create greater educational equity.
- The program ensures that the cost of course materials is never a barrier to taking a class.
- Every student in a class will receive the same course materials, in the same edition and format, by the first day of classes.
- The textbook program simplifies the start of the semester. Once students are enrolled in a course, they will receive their required course materials in either digital or print formats.
- The cost of course materials will now be one of the many facets of an Amherst education included in the comprehensive fee. Follett, our partner in this program, negotiates competitive pricing with publishers, and this savings is passed on directly to Amherst.
How It Works
- Faculty have the academic freedom to choose the course materials that best fit the class curriculum, including the content provider, edition and medium.
- Faculty (or academic department coordinators) will submit lists of required course materials to Follett, our ACTS partner, with sufficient time to gather and prepare all materials for distribution to students.
- Students do not have to request their course materials. Once they are enrolled in a course, they will receive their required course materials in either digital or print formats.
- Students will pick up their physical course materials at a to-be-determined location on campus for the beginning of the semester, and digital materials can be accessed immediately through an online portal that holds students’ personal “bookshelves.”
- Students will own their textbooks and course materials. Digital materials will remain in a student’s online bookshelf after the semester and can even be accessed after graduation.