Over the years, there has been a steady decline in the number of students who purchase their textbooks, with recent industry research indicating that as many as 1 of every 5 students does not buy the assigned text. As a result, professors are faced with students that are unprepared for class.

So what are we doing?

MPS has been working hard to help campus bookstores get more textbooks off shelves and into students' hands. We believe that next to the instructor, a well-designed and thoroughly researched textbook and its supplements are the most valuable and reliable learning resources college students have at their disposal. Therefore, we want to help students understand the value of textbooks, and in turn, enhance their classroom experiences and performances.

MPS (Bedford/St. Martin’s, W. H. Freeman, and Worth Publishers) launched our FDOC initiative years ago to communicate the importance of course materials and to help bookstore managers and professors answer common questions at the beginning of each semester (e.g. Why is the textbook important? Why was this textbook chosen? What tools accompany this book? How do I log-on to the website? What tools are free to me? What other formats does this book come in? Is there a less expensive version or ebook that I can purchase?)

For each of our titles, we offer FDOC materials for professors to use in class and/or for bookstore managers to use in their stores. While each title may offer unique tools, there are also standard tools as well such as syllabus attachments, handouts/flyers, and PowerPoint slides. Any of these tools should help communicate to students that studying with the chosen course materials will improve their learning and their overall grade.

While we have many “pre-built” tools, we are happy to create tools specific to your school or course, so please get in touch if you would like our help (staff training documents, shelf-talkers, etc.).

We are very anxious to work with you and your staff to help the students on your campus. We have created tools for you and your staff to support adopted titles and/or packages that fully describe the components, features, and benefits. We are more than willing to come in to discuss our adopted titles, if that would help, or even work rush to discuss these issues one-on-one with students.

We're very proud of the books and accompanying media and supplements we have developed, and we are eager - as I’m sure you are - to see your students take full advantage of all we have to offer.

Please let us know how we can help and what else we should be doing. Bottom line: we want to ensure students are prepared for their coursework so their college experience is a success.

To access any of these materials, please visit the title area of our on-line catalog. If you require additional or customized tools, please contact your local textbook representative for help.