Faith Crockett, digital media editor

When it comes to showing up prepared for classes at the start of a new semester, the most essential step is purchasing your textbooks. Students take a minimum of 12 credit hours, with many surpassing that to 16 or even 18, meaning the amount of books that a student has to rent or purchase could easily fill multiple backpacks.

Students know that textbooks are no small back-to-school purchase. With how expensive textbooks run, planning and budgeting for them is essential.

While some classes textbooks are only $20 and some offer those you could borrow from a friend, there are still many classes that require more expensive books, such as math and science courses with the Aleks program attached and language textbooks with the VHL online program attached.

Larger textbooks often run in the $150-$200 range and aren’t necessarily the most comfortable thing to swipe a card on, but when your professor is telling you about it on the first day of class, and homework due at the end of the week, there isn’t much negotiation that can occur.

Some professors may even tell you that renting a textbook is suggested, but not necessary, or that you may find a cheaper or free version of the book online. Shipping is another factor to take into consideration.

Books can take over a week to arrive, which sets students behind in their work on the first week. This is why it is essential for professors to send syllabi ahead of classes and notify students of materials that are required for their courses.

While Canvas may not open until the first day of class, a materials list could be sent out a month in advance, or even at the beginning of the summer through an email.

Considering the fact that many courses were created years ago, with the same syllabi still being used, the materials and texts could even be included on the course information
on VikingWeb. In order to ensure students are prepared and can immediately engage with the content, professors must make textbook notification a priority. If they don’t, they’re setting students up to be a week behind before they arrive.