The Higher Education Opportunity Act requires universities to make available to students, for each course, the International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs) and price information for required/recommended books and supplemental materials.

To comply with this requirement, the University of Pennsylvania works closely with Barnes & Noble, managers of the Penn Bookstore, to maintain a simple and cost-effective process to provide ISBNs to our students. Through the bookstore’s online system, students have access to a complete list of materials for their courses, along with the ISBNs for each listed text. Textbook information can be provided to other vendors, and students are in no way required to purchase their books at the Penn Bookstore. Faculty can also indicate that no course materials are required, which helps to ensure the completeness of the University’s reporting. 

We greatly appreciate the efforts of Penn faculty members to work with the bookstore to provide this important information for our students. For additional information, or to submit your course materials directly, you can visit: http://www.upenn.edu/coursematerials.

—Beth A. Winkelstein, Interim Provost
—Karen Detlefsen, Vice Provost for Education