9 Miss. Code R. § 8-5-5.6
As members of the MSVCC, all colleges agree to abide by the following guidelines in regard to meeting the needs of our students for textbooks while enrolled in an online course:
If possible, the bookstore will order from the publisher, rather than the other bookstore, except where unique situations arise (i.e. instructor prepared materials, out-of-edition textbooks, etc.). Several issues make this the best solution for the majority of orders.
If a bookstore is unable to buy from the publisher and have the textbook delivered to the student within 14 days, the host college will place an order with the provider college. Each college will accept a purchase order from a member of the MACJC. Each college bookstore will accept open purchase orders from other stores, if that is the procedure that they would like to use. The bookstore may call, email or fax their order to the other bookstore. Prior to placing this order, the college will verify the information on the student's profile for accuracy.
All communication concerning any orders between stores will occur only between the stores involved. It is agreed that there will be no communication with a student about a textbook ordered from another college which involves criticism of the other college. Therefore, a student will not be asked to call the other bookstore. As the student did not place the order, only the other college bookstore will call for information on the order.
Textbooks and other materials will be sold to other colleges at the retail cost less a 10% discount. This allows the store who ordered, shelved, stocked the item and then, pulled the item, removed tags, and boxed the item for shipment, to retain some of the mark up to cover their direct and indirect cost. Any mark-up to the student after receipt is a matter of local policy for each college.
All community college bookstores agree to charge a set fee per book for shipping and handling when sending the book to a member of the MACJC. That fee will be $5 per book, with a minimum of $10.00. Example: shipping 1 book - $10, shipping 2 books - $10, shipping 3 books - $15, shipping 4 books -$20, etc. The fee will be fair and equitable based upon current standard book shipping rates through the USPS.
All bookstores agree to make shipments to other colleges within 2 to 3 business days as long as the book is in stock. If the textbook being ordered is out-of-stock at that college, the bookstore who is placing the order will order directly from the publisher.
All bookstores agree to make payment within 30 days of receipt of the invoice. ( Note that some bookstores mail their invoice with their shipment and some bookstores prepare them at a later date.) A bookstore may deny an order if they have outstanding invoices from a store from a previous semester.
All CELOs agree that as much as possible, they will ensure that information for textbooks on the MSVCC Enrollment System will be accurate. In addition, they agree that as textbook changes are made, students who have registered for the class will be notified of the change(s).
As required by Higher Education Opportunities Act (HEOA), colleges will "Disclose, on the institution's internet course schedule and in a manner of the institution's choosing, the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) and retail price information of required and recommended college textbooks and supplemental materials for each course listed in the institution's course schedule used for preregistration and registration purposes.
All store-to-store orders will be considered special orders. All bookstores agree to allow a 100% return between stores during the first five weeks of the semester for the fall and the spring semesters. This is five weeks from the start date of the term not the date of the order. Textbooks must be returned in new condition (shrink-wrapped, no open CD's or disk, no writing or highlighting.) All stores agree to call and notify the other store when they are preparing a shipment for return. (This phone call may assist the store personnel in making only one return shipment to a publisher. It is also a good practice and courteous to the other store in that some publishers have a short refund period. In addition, that store may be in the process of ordering the same textbook.) Whether or not a college allows a student to return a book over the same period is a local college policy issue.
If a return is needed after the first five weeks of school, the bookstore should notify the other store and discuss whether or not a return could still be made with the addition of a re-stocking fee. Returns accepted after the initial return period would depend on the need for that textbook by this store and should be a local policy issue.
As the summer terms are much shorter, bookstores agree to a two week return period during this time. All other requirements remain the same.
Note: Many stores indicated that they will handle all orders from the student as "Special orders - paid in advance and non-returnable." If this is done, there will be few returns made between colleges. Most returns would then be only due to class cancellations, students who failed to pick up books, etc.
9 Miss. Code. R. § 8-5-5.6