CourseSmart is an online marketplace for digital college course materials. It brings together thousands of the most commonly used textbooks, from a wide variety of higher education publishers, in electronic format. Instructors can use CourseSmart to find and review all of the information they need to choose their text or course materials, and it gives students immediate access to the materials their professors assign. CourseSmart is also a great value for students who are concerned about the rising cost of college, since digital materials can cost up to 50 percent less than traditional textbooks. |
The CourseSmart digital marketplace was created in collaboration with leading higher education publishers including Pearson, Cengage (formerly Thomson Learning), The McGraw-Hill Companies, John Wiley & Sons, Houghton Mifflin, and the Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishing Group, with other publishers expected to join soon. By participating in the CourseSmart marketplace, publishers hope to offer education consumers access to greater choice when it comes to course materials, in terms of both format and price. |
The Beta release is a fully functional site with thousands of titles. We have launched in Beta to get important market feedback we can use to improve our product. CourseSmart's mission is to be a comprehensive marketplace for digital course content. To that end, we will be constantly adding content from a wide range of higher education publishers, including thousands of titles this Fall. If you have suggestions on how we can improve our site or if you would like to request that we add a specific title, please email us at feedback@coursesmart.com. |
By partnering with CourseSmart, affiliates can offer students and instructors access to a central marketplace for digital content from multiple educational publishers, resulting in new sales opportunities as well as cost savings through the aggregation and standardization of technology, communication, and operations. CourseSmart provides an easy-to-implement solution for organizations and businesses looking for a single access point for eTtextbooks and digital course materials. CourseSmart affiliates will be well-positioned to enjoy even greater efficiencies as digital materials become more widely accepted. |
CourseSmart's basic affiliate program will pay affiliates 5% of net sales (CourseSmart's gross sales revenue minus any applicable taxes and credits issued for refunds) on all subscriptions generated by students who visit CourseSmart from an affiliate's approved link. Subscription renewals will not generate affiliate fees. CourseSmart's e-commerce systems track and manage the sales and will issue affiliate checks on a quarterly basis (net 45 days). Affiliate programs with deeper integration and merchandising can earn higher affiliate fees. Contact us at affiliates@coursesmart.com to discuss ideas in these areas. |
Sales are tracked back to an affiliate through a code that is issued to the affiliate upon acceptance to the program. Affiliates will be given technical instructions on how best to incorporate the affiliate link on their website. In addition, affiliates can also cut and paste banner ads in various sizes that can be incorporated into the college store website to help drive traffic and increase affiliate sales. |
Not necessarily. Sales are credited to one or more affiliates based on the affiliate code. If several booksellers serve a college or university and opt in to the program, each store will be issued an affiliate code and begin generating affiliate fees. |
If a college store and the college administration agree to do so, and the college store is approved as an affiliate, the college store will be able to share its affiliate code and link instructions with web addresses owned by the college or university. All qualifying sales generated through these links will be eligible for the affiliate fee. |
Instructors adopt a textbook and then have the opportunity to offer students a choice of format – print textbook or eTextbook. Instructors should place their print book order with the college store as they normally would, and booksellers should order the required quantities of the print edition for the start of class. Instructors or the affiliate can tell students about the choice of formats prior to the start of class, or on the first day of class. Students who are interested in the digital format can choose a CourseSmart eTextbook subscription. If a college store has signed up for the CourseSmart Affiliate Program, instructors should direct students to the college store website to find the CourseSmart link, since this will generate affiliate fees for the college store. |
Yes, CourseSmart supports sales crediting and reporting. |
Customers are taxed according to state, federal, and international guidelines as they pertain to the subscription offer. For example, under current guidelines, customers coming to CourseSmart from a U.S. address are not taxed on their digital subscriptions, but those coming from a European address are subject to a Valued Added Tax (VAT). |
Yes, students can request a full refund within the first two weeks of their subscription provided they have not exceeded the maximum number of page views or print rights as described in the Terms of Service. |
Yes. Colleges and universities can place the affiliate link directly on their homepage. |
If a student visits a CourseSmart Affiliate, he or she will be directed to the CourseSmart eTextbook version of their assigned text from a link on the Affiliate's site. Once at CourseSmart, students with a major credit card can purchase subscription access to the eTextbook based on the length of their course, whether one semester or more. CourseSmart will pay affiliates 5% of the net sales from this transaction. |
Technical support instructions will be available at customerservice@coursesmart.com. Students will be able to access a Frequently Asked Questions list, as well as specific customer support contact information. CourseSmart customer and technical support will span the eTextbook offerings from all of the publishers collaborating on CourseSmart. You have only one place to send your students—not one for each publisher. |
Students purchasing an eTextBook subscription on CourseSmart will not receive the additional free value pack. |
For now, CourseSmart is only available to students in the United States. Our goal is to add additional geographies in the coming months. |
The six founding publishers are committed to providing the majority of their catalog of titles in eTextBook format at CourseSmart. CourseSmart will solicit other publishers of higher education materials with an offer to distribute eTextBook versions of their higher education titles as well. |
