Textbook Rental Policy

This page is divided into two sections: Student Policies and Faculty Policies. These policies and guidelines are governed by a faculty-led Textbook Rental Committee and Student Government.

Student Policies

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is the proud home of one of the largest Textbook Rental programs in the state. Undergraduate students pay a Textbook Rental fee in their tuition every semester. This fee allows all undergraduate students to rent the majority of their required textbooks for no additional cost. The Textbook Rental system saves UW-Whitewater students thousands of dollars on their course materials, and to maintain the program there are several policies and student responsibilities to ensure its continued success. 

Textbook Checkout & Return

• Students are responsible for picking up their own textbooks.
• If Textbook Rental runs short on required textbooks, we will purchase more. Be aware that this process is not immediate and can take several days. Students are advised to pick up their textbooks early in the semester.
• We do check the condition of rental textbooks. Students can be charged for damages to their textbooks including: torn pages, binding problems, water damage, etc. If a student picks up a book that happens to be damaged, they should alert Textbook Rental staff immediately to avoid having the damage charged to your account.
• All textbooks are linked by their barcode to a student's account. Students should check their receipt before leaving Textbook Rental to make certain their transaction was completed accurately.

• The deadline for returning books is always the final day of the semester. Late fees begin one-week after the final day of the term. $10 per book with a $50 max per semester. This standard late fee applies 30 days from the final day of the term. After 30 days the late fee doubles to $20 per book with a $100 max per semester.
• After checking books in at the front desk, students are responsible for returning their own textbooks to the assigned shelf. Each individual textbook is linked by its barcode to a student's account. Failure to put textbooks back on the correct shelf will result in a $3.33 fine per book.
• There are often long lines at the beginning and the end of a semester. We appreciate patience during these times.  To avoid these lines, we recommend coming early in the morning or shortly before closing.
• Returned textbook rentals are checked for damages after they are returned. Again, all books are linked by their barcode to a student's account. Any damages to a book that would result in a charge will be assigned to the student's bill at the end of the billing cycle.  
• Students should check their receipt before leaving Textbook Rental to make certain their transaction was completed accurately, and that every book you are returning is on the receipt.
• Any book not returned by the Due Date will be billed full replacement cost 7 days after the due date.  Rental books returned after the due date may have replacement cost reversed and be issued the appropriate Late Fees.

Additional Policies

• Graduate students are not eligible for Textbook Rental and must purchase their textbooks from the University Bookstore. 
• Purchasing rental textbooks: Students are able to purchase your books from Textbook Rental, but we discourage it for various reasons, including pricing and availability. 
• Shipping textbooks: Textbooks can be shipped to a student. See the shipping section for details and policies concerning our shipping department. 
• Return extensions and early checkouts:
  • • If a student has received an incomplete or an extension from their instructor, we can grant a Textbook Rental extension. This will require written documentation from the instructor. 
    • We can also grant extensions for medical or family emergency issues. Verification may be required.
    • Early Checkouts are possible in extenuating situations, such as leaving the country to study abroad, or medical reasons.    

Policies Affecting Faculty

Textbook Rental strives to procure and retain every resource possible to meet the needs of our faculty.  In order to continue providing our faculty with the highest level of service, we have several policies governing the procurement and assignment of the textbooks.

Requesting a new text or new addition

• Both a request for a new edition or a new text requires the instructor to submit a requisition form.  There is an electronic version in the faculty section.
• There is a deadline every semester for turning in requests.  These deadlines are guided by the Federal Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), requiring students to have access to the cost of course materials at the time of registration. Below is an excerpt from the law:

(a) PURPOSE AND INTENT. -The purpose of this section is to ensure that students have access to affordable course materials by decreasing costs to students and enhancing transparency and disclosure with respect to the selection, purchase, sale, and use of course materials. It is the intent of this section to encourage all of the involved parties, including faculty, students, administrators, institutions of higher education, bookstores, distributors, and publishers, to work together to identify ways to decrease the cost of college textbooks and supplemental materials for students while supporting the academic freedom of faculty members to select high quality course materials for students."

*Instructors will receive email reminders of these dates with ample time to get us the necessary information.

• Textbook Rental's adoption policy requires that titles be retained for a three year period.
• Books are not automatically updated when a new edition becomes available. A request for a new edition may be submitted as a new book order, subject to the three-year adoption policy.
• Requests for a new text may be submitted as a new book order: 1.) when a new edition of an existing text becomes available 2.) when the existing text goes out of print.
• All textbooks will be purchased from used book companies when available. A request for all new textbooks will be evaluated on an individual basis.
• The textbook designated as the "main" text for a course will not be subjected to a maximum dollar amount (within reason).  There is a $25 minimum amount.  Any textbooks less than $25 will have to be ordered through the University Bookstore for students to purchase.
• If multiple texts are requested for a course the total value of the list price cannot exceed $90.  A request for multiple texts exceeding the $90 limit can be submitted for review. 
• Supplemental texts not covered by Textbook Rental may be ordered through the University Bookstore by contacting Glen Oeding at 262-472-1281 or e-mailing oedingg@uww.edu 
• Faculty are asked not to use textbooks in rental as "recommended" titles. This can cause shortages for courses that are using those books as their primary text.
• When a new book is acquired, the old text will be discarded. Discard options include: 
  • • Selling books to used book companies.
    • Selling books to students at a reduced rate.
    • Sending books to the academic department upon request. These requests are subject to limitations determined by the wholesale value of the book.
    • Sending books to the Reserve Library in accordance with their policies.
• Any textbook that has not been used for three years will be discarded upon notification of the department chairperson. 
• Textbooks for graduate courses, workshops, seminars and other one-time offerings are not available through Textbook Rental. Contact the University Bookstore at 262-472-1280 or email Glen Oeding our Textbook Manager for Purchase & Rental oedingg@uww.edu

Renewing a Textbook Rental

• Faculty no longer need to submit a renewal notice to Textbook Rental if they're using the same textbook. The Textbook Rental manager and staff will assign a textbook to each course based on instructor and previous textbook use for that course/section. You will receive a list of titles assigned to your courses, and we ask that you verify the accuracy of this list. Please contact Glen Oeding at oedingg@uww.edu  if any changes are required.

Additional Policies

• Textbook Rental does not acquire desk copies for instructors. Each faculty member needing a desk copy must contact the publisher directly.

Please direct any purchase or rental book questions to Textbook Manager Glen Oeding: oedingg@uww.edu 262-472-1281