New Program Automatically Purchases Textbooks, Starting Spring 2022

By Ava Gonzalez

Photo by Unsplash

Bernie’s Books For Less is a new program that was announced to students early on Friday morning last week. 

The announcement read, “With Bernie’s Books for Less, all your required course materials are included in your Marymount bill and will be conveniently prepared for you before the first day of class. This program will begin with the Spring 2022 semester”. All eligible students will be automatically enrolled in the Bernie’s Books for Less program.

The Marymount Bookstore will gather class materials for students, where they are able to pick up their assembled package. Digital material will be inputted directly to a student’s Canvas page. All required textbooks (paper and digital), lab manuals, and access codes are included in the program. Since materials like lab goggles and nursing kits cannot be returned, they will not be included. 

After registering for classes, students must verify their order. However, even if students do not verify their order, they will still be charged for the cost of materials to their student account if they don’t opt-out before the deadline. 

There will be an opportunity to opt-out of this program. Students will be emailed a google form, and it will be available on the Bernies Books for Less website beginning on December 6th. “Opting out means you will not receive access to your required course materials in a convenient package at a discounted rate”, claims the website. 

Some students are frustrated with the announcement, especially after the recent housing policy changes. Senior Biochemistry major Maia Pappadakis shared her feelings with Banner Staff after reading the email announcement. “It feels like a shady way to get more money out of students. I don’t like that it’s an opt-out policy as opposed to an opt-in. I’ve been finding my own textbooks for years and I’m not interested in having Marymount do it for me,” she shared. 

Marymount did attest that students would receive their class materials at an, “average savings of 35 to 50 percent”, but did not specify in detail. The university claims, “Marymount has made every effort to launch this new bookstore program to benefit students by providing course materials before the start of the semester at a lower rate.