Faculty Information

This program is addressing concerns from student feedback about the cost of learning materials and faculty feedback that learning materials are not available on the first day of class. In addition, learning material costs vary by major creating equity issues for students. A learning material delivery method referred to generally as “Equitable Access” was explored to help solve these concerns.  The resulting Seawolf Bundle is our attempt to create timely affordable access to all learning material.

This program makes getting learning materials easier for students, which will ultimately improve their success at Sonoma State University. 

No. Faculty still can select the content they feel is best for a student’s learning experience. The only change will be the need for timely learning material adoptions for the best student experience.

Students will be automatically enrolled in the Seawolf Bundle program when they enroll in classes. 30 days before classes start, they will receive a link via email to verify their order and select a delivery preference for their printed material. Integrated electronic course access will be available to them on the first day of class if required.  

Here is a video walk-through of a general student experience of the First Day Complete (Seawolf Bundle) program.

Sonoma State University in partnership with Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) is committed to lowering the costs of learning material to our students, and with BNED integrated supply chain and economies of scale, the Seawolf Bundle program brings a new innovative way to provide the most affordable solution for our students. 

The University Store is committed to helping as they normally do in those situations. We will just work to update the textbook adoption platform with the new materials. 

For courses with electronic access, the access will be provided each semester it is required. For courses requiring printed textbooks, a rental copy will be provided each semester it is required but must be returned each semester. 

For program questions, please contact Neil Markley, Associate Vice President for Administration and Finance at neil.markley@sonoma.edu.

For adoptions and how the program works please contact Steve Higginbotham, Manager for University Store at sm499@bncollege.com.

The Seawolf Bundle program will cost a low, flat fee of $18.50 per credit hour. The Seawolf Bundle will cost $277.50 per semester for 15 credit hours. For the traditional model, financial aid factors $497 per semester for learning materials.

Students will pay for the total number of credits taken in a semester, not by the number of courses utilizing the program. Students can fully opt out of all classes in their course term.

No, students pay for the total number of credits taken per semester, not by the number of books they purchase or the number of courses utilizing the program. 

No, the average price is inclusive of all courses by total credit hours, not by course. There is also no guarantee that a student takes the course in the sequence, nor that the book does not change between the student taking the course.

Yes, students are charged the price per credit hour for the total number of credit hours they are registered that term. Even if a student has one class that has zero-cost courses, they may have four others with content that has a price. The students have the ability to opt out if they like. Continued faculty adoption of OER items has a positive impact on reducing the per-unit charge.

The price per credit hour covers all required learning materials that faculty adopt for their courses. This can include readers, etc. If there are other items “recommended”, we can show those, but they would fall outside the Seawolf Bundle.

Any textbooks adopted outside the University Store would not be included in the Seawolf Bundle program. We encourage faculty members to provide their adoptions to us as the campus partner so that we can create a more convenient experience for the students when it comes to their learning materials.  

Yes, students are charged the price per credit hour for the total number of credit hours they are registered for in that term.  Even if a student has one class that has zero-cost courses, they may have four others with content that has a price. The students have the ability to opt-out if they like. The adoption of zero-cost learning materials will reduce the overall price per credit hour charged to all students.

Faculty maintain full academic freedom and choose any materials across all publishers, in any format. We do not dictate what they can or cannot choose. 

Barnes and Noble College has relationships with the vast majority of publishers, not only the main group but with the smaller publishers as well. In discussions with other campuses, there have been little, if any, issues with sourcing materials the faculty choose to use. 

Yes, there is a low-cost print option available and nominal pricing varies.

Yes. The Seawolf Bundle program supports current learning material adoptions and does not require faculty to change their content. 

We recommend using current editions of required textbooks. It may not be possible to acquire sufficient copies of old and out-of-print editions for the class. 

Monographs can certainly be supported if they are available as print-on-demand products that the store team can order just like they would be able to today.

We leverage the technology provided by VitalSource Technologies to deliver all digital course-ware and eBooks which offers many features such as a Read Aloud feature, note taking, and an unrivaled commitment to accessibility standards. Stand-alone audio books are not currently part of the Seawolf Bundle program.

Barnes and Noble works closely with Zybooks and Wiley Online, as it relates to their online materials. Once a student registers online, their digital content is loaded into their MySSU Canvas account for immediate access. Students will have the opportunity to access these materials under the program. 

Yes. The transition to the Seawolf Bundle program does not limit the capabilities of the store to support these classes and content as today.  

If a student opts out, they choose to obtain their required learning materials outside the program. They will lose any inclusive electronic learning material access they may have had and will not receive any printed material. They may still get these items individually from the University Store, or from wherever they see fit.