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CAMPUS

The Norwich Guidon
Jan. 29, 2004

Students, faculty see textbook shortages on campus

By Adrian Ackles
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Some students and faculty at Norwich are experiencing an unusual shortage of some textbooks at the start of this semester.

New Norwich history professor Sean Kalic says shortages at larger universities isn't unusual. “It isn't uncommon for a class to have a couple students without books,” Kalic said, adding that at NU it is a bit unusual.

This is Kalic’s first year teaching at Norwich University. He started his career at Kansas State, where the classes are much larger, and he said it is easier to teach a large class when a couple of students do not have their books.

“I would have a class of nearly 90 students, maybe 10 might not have the book; it is easier for them to get lost in the crowd,” Kalic said. “While, being here, I have classes with 20 students, and three in each didn't have a book,” Kalic said. “Relatively that isn't bad, but here it is a more personal teaching environment.”

Kalic added that a lack of textbooks can “hold back the class a bit. I know there [are] alternate resources for students to get textbooks from; they need it for my course.”

Barbara Bernardini, who has worked as the Norwich bookstore manager for eight years, says shortages are unusual here. “The professor sends an order for the course and section; we use history of the textbook [how many students took it in the past] to help determine the quantities we will need,” Bernardini said.

In Kalic’s case, the registrar, along with the head of each department, decides how many students will be in a course and which text the professor will use for it, according to NU Registrar Fran Burstein.

“I believe that the communication between bookstore and the registrar’s office is good,” Burstein said. “I know that they have a certain deadline to get books in at a certain time, so it makes it hard for us to get them exact numbers, because of add/drop,” Burstein said.

After the add/drop period is over, the textbook shortage becomes more evident.

“We have a set amount of students that we want in a course, and we post on the Norwich website hourly how many students are in each course,” Burstein said. “But by the time add/drop is active, we have some professors with 20-plus in the course and others with eight for the same course.”

For this reason, the registrar is occasionally forced to cancel some of the courses or divide them up to make it more even. This affects new students and students who registered late, because now they have to find a way to get into classes that they need.

“This is when the division heads of departments let certain students into a course that might already be full,” Burstein said.

When that happens, the bookstore has already ordered the set amount of books for a certain course. The bookstore puts in orders for books, usually two weeks before classes start, in order to get as many used books as possible, Bernardini said. “Once classes are started, our chances for getting used books are slimmer.”

The courses generally in need of textbooks on short notice are in the English and History departments.

“Each semester it is a different department; there was a [criminal justice] course that grew and grew a couple of semesters ago,” Bernardini explained. “This semester, English and History [are] very popular.”

“To my knowledge, this is something that has always been around in every university,” Kalic said. “I do still require my students to get the text, whether it be from a colleague or from an online source.”

“It is a two-day delivery,” Bernardini said about the time it takes to order more books. “Our goal is for every student to have a book. Our main goal is to get exact ordering, and with communication and technology, it has become better throughout the years.”

The Norwich Guidon is a twice-monthly student newspaper distributed at Norwich University. It provides laboratory experience for students in the Communications program. Claims asserted by letter writers, editorials and other articles do not represent the positions of Norwich University. The Norwich Guidon welcomes signed letters to the editor. They should be no longer than 300 words. Unsigned letters will not be printed, but names may be withheld upon worthy request. All letters are subject to editing for length and good taste. Mailing address: The Norwich Guidon, Communications Center, Norwich University, Northfield, VT 056632. www.norwich.edu/guidon. If you have any questions or comments about the paper, please contact Professor Ken Bush at kbush@norwich.edu.