Bookstore Program Rewards Departments for Early Textbook Orders

Airlines offer frequent flyer miles; grocery stores offer coupon discounts; but who’s ever heard of a university bookstore that gives student scholarships and store credits to academic departments simply for turning in textbook requisitions on time?

That’s precisely what Titan Shops has been doing since fall 1998 when it initiated the Requisition Rewards Program.

“The success of the program is predicated on the time-tested principle of rewarding good performance,” said Jerry Olson, director of Titan Shops. “It’s a win-win situation for all – students, faculty members and departments.”

If a department turns in 95 percent of its textbook orders by Nov. 15 (Nov. 17 this year) for spring classes – or April 15 for the fall semester – Titan Shops guarantees they will have the textbooks for the first day of classes.

By receiving the orders when they do, Titan Shops can locate used books, including buying them back from students. Students receive 50 percent of the original purchase price when turning in books – which means they actually spent less on the book – and students going into the classes have the opportunity to purchase the lower-priced used books.

Ordering the books early also helps Titan Shops and Disabled Student Services meet the needs of disabled students.

“I can’t stress the importance of this enough,” said Lisa Thies, Disabled Student Services’ coordinator of support services, who is in charge of developing alternatives to texbooks. “It can take up to 15 weeks to convert materials.”

Finally, thousands of dollars in scholarships and bookstore credits are awarded to students and departments, thanks to the program. Departments that submit 95 percent or more of their requisitions by the due date earn $500-$1,000 in store credits and $500 in student scholarships. Even if they turn in only 80 percent of their orders, they receive a prorated reward.

Since its inception, Titan Shops has awarded nearly $250,000 in student scholarships and credits.

“It’s a real incentive for us to get our orders in on time,” said Phyllis Harn, secretary in electrical engineering, noting that the funds have been used to support student award programs.

“It’s wonderful and really works well,” agreed Dee Schlotzhauer, administrative assistant in management. “It helped our department buy equipment that we couldn’t afford otherwise.”

For more information on the program, please call 278-4990.