Every year, many students walk into the bookstore prepared, if not thrilled, to drop a few hundred dollars on required reading for a semester’s worth of courses. And every year, the same question arises: If there’s a chance I’m going to drop this class, should I spend the money on the books now or delay my purchase? The short return period established by the bookstore is a major incentive not to, but jam-packed syllabuses distributed by professors argue strongly for not hesitating.
Last year, The Hoya’s editorial board took it upon itself to inform the Georgetown community of a little-known bookstore return policy concerning the add/drop period ([“Reread Bookstore’s Policies,”](https://www.thehoya.com/opinion/reread-bookstores-policies/) The Hoya, Sept. 9, 2008, A2). As the manager of the store explained, if a student drops a class at the beginning of the semester, the individual may return the dropped course’s books after the designated last day of returns if he or she presents the add/drop form to the cashier. If the course was dropped online, a MyAccess print-out may be presented to the cashier.
But not in practice, it seems. This year, students reported failed attempts to return books from dropped courses after the return date, even if they followed the procedure outlined by the store manager. This puts an unwelcome financial burden on students, as one course’s assigned books can often add up to more than $200.
The problem this year is not a result of a storewide policy shift, however. Instead, the bookstore manager, after we investigated the apparent change, attributed the shift to insufficient training and policy know-how among staff.
As the primary vendor for course materials at Georgetown, the bookstore ought to improve its training mechanisms before the beginning of the academic year; this is the only way to ensure student satisfaction during the hectic month of September, when students’ schedules remain in flux. The manager has recognized the need to boost staff-wide knowledge of this policy in the coming months, particularly for the beginning of next semester.
Unfortunately, some students – those who are uninformed and have given up on the idea of a book return since the return deadline has passed, or those who have followed the correct procedure but have been refused by an misinformed cashier – have received the short end of the stick, not to mention some unwanted company on their bookshelves.
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