The goals of CMI are to (1) provide students as a whole with more affordable course materials, (2) enhance the students’ experience on a common digital platform via Blackboard, and (3) position UMBC to be ahead of the curve with digital content. Negotiations were conducted directly with publishers to provide students with reduced pricing.

For a one page student summary click here.

• LIVE CMI LIST - Click to view Google Spreadsheet of CMI courses/sections information for the current semester. This is the most up to date listing (CMI LIVE LIST!)

Courses participating with CMI items will have a Course Materials Charge listed in the Schedule of Classes. When viewing your course materials list from the UMBC Bookstore website, CMI items will have a message about CMI or the "CMI" tag.

A CMI extension course is a second or third semester course for which the first semester is a participating CMI course. This means that if a student has taken the first semester CMI course, they should still have access to their materials for the second and third semester. If a student did not take the prior level of the course with CMI and remains opted in, they will have the CMI charge added to their student account after the opt-out deadline. If the student opts out of CMI, the CMI access will be removed and they will not be charged.

The charge varies from class to class depending on the course materials required. Check the CMI LIVE LIST above for CMI charge information.

The CMI charge is automatically billed to your student account when you enroll in the course for CMI Bases, and is paid like any other charge. For CMI Extension materials, the charge is added to your student account after the status change deadline. Most excess financial aid loan or scholarship disbursements will also apply against open Course Material charges.

CMI is not a university fee and may not be covered by all Chapters. VA students must follow the posted deadline for CMI participation if choosing to opt out for any reason. This includes if a student is opting out due to purchasing the physical course material with VA funds. If there are any questions about CMI coverage within VA chapter benefits, please contact Student Business Services or the VA office BEFORE the CMI opt-out deadline.

• Lower-priced course materials.
• Access your course materials by the first day of class.
• Pay on your student bill, just like tuition. A course materials charge is included on all registered students’ tuition bill for the courses in this program. This allows you to include your course materials charge in your payment plans.
• Common digital format – say goodbye to heavy backpacks & bulky books, and feel good about this environmentally-friendly alternative.
• Access your course materials wherever and whenever. Once you download your digital book to your bookshelf app, you can access it anywhere – even without a connection! You can study using up to 4 devices; go from your desktop, to your laptop, to your iPad/ Kindle, to your Android/iPhone.
• Single sign-on. When you enroll in a CMI course, an ADA compliant, common digital format of your textbook and ancillaries, such as Aleks or WebAssign, automatically uploads onto your Blackboard account.

Students are able to print up to 25 pages per login at no other cost than the cost of paper and ink. The UMBC Bookstore has print copies of CMI titles available for students to borrow. Check out the CMI Book Borrowing section above for more information about this option. A student is also able to opt out by the opt-out deadline and purchase their own material through separate means.

For the Textbook and online publisher integrations there is 24/7 online support.

All students are given temporary two week access to the course materials. If you drop the class during UMBCs schedule adjustment period you will be refunded your CMI charge. If you drop the class after
the schedule adjustment period, you will not be refunded, but you will be able to maintain access to the course materials through your VitalSource account.

• If in a previous semester you were enrolled in a course that is now part of the CMI but wasn't CMI at the time of the initial attempt- this is not a CMI retake. If you still have access to the material you originally purchased for the first attempt and would like to use that instead of CMI material, please opt out of CMI. If you do not have access to your previous material and would like to use CMI material, you will need to remain opted in and pay the CMI charge.
• CMI access duration varies per item. Some items are single semester while others have two year access. If it is a two year access material, Retakes are supported. Single semester items are not eligible for Retake coverage.
• CMI retakes are tracked by the CMI system. Students with a valid retake will automatically be flagged to have their current CMI charge waived while having their access continued. If student is not sure whether their attempt has been recognized as a retake/continuation they are welcome to the contact the Course Materials Department.

Your course materials are located within your course on Blackboard through the "My Textbooks & Course Resources" link. Once your professor open the course, you will be able to access them. Your professor decides where in the course to place the link to the course materials – for example, this could be in the Syllabus or Course Documents content area. A common location for CMI materials is the "Course Materials" folder or "Start Here" folder. In Ultra, it may just be in the main content area.

• After your CMI course's Blackboard shell is opened to students, you can access the eTextbook by:
• • Click on the "My Textbooks & Course Resources" tool within the CMI course's Blackboard shell. Click the "Read Now" button. This will open a new tab where you will either need to login in or sign up for VitalSource to have the eTextbook added to your VitalSource Bookshelf.
  • Read the eTextbook after downloading the VitalSource App to your chosen device(s).
  • Once you have setup a VitalSource account, you can access your eTextbook directly through the VitalSource website, bookshelf.vitalsource.com
• For more Blackboard troubleshooting, click here.

You can log into VitalSource directly and access your course materials in your Bookshelf, which you would have created the first time you logged into your materials through Blackboard. Students continue to have access to their eBook through the duration of the material's license which varies. Check the CMI LIVE LIST for durations.

You can download the Bookshelf app from here for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Kindle or any other device you may be using.

Yes.

The Student Government Association has been very supportive of CMI, and encouraged the Bookstore to proceed with the pilot program for Spring 2016. At that time, the then SGA President, Anthony Jankoski, provided the Bookstore with a letter of endorsement of CMI. In May, the SGA passed a resolution endorsing the CMI, which can be read here.

In Spring 2016, the Bookstore sent out a survey to all CMI students, click here to review the results.
In Fall 2016, the Bookstore sent out another survey to all CMI students, click here to review the results.
In Spring 2017, the Bookstore sent out another survey to all CMI students, click here to review the results.
In Fall 2017, the Bookstore sent out another survey to all CMI students, click here to review the results.
In Spring 2018, the Bookstore sent out another survey to all CMI students, click here to review the results.
In Fall 2018, the Bookstore sent out another survey to all CMI students, click here to review the results.

If the Frequently Asked Questions did not resolve your issue please email [email protected]

Students in a participating course/section are provided with their faculty selected course materials in a digital format. The digital course materials include courseware such as WebAssign, Aplia and ALEKS, as well as eBooks from publishers under contract with UMBC. The course materials are integrated into Blackboard, UMBC’s learning management system, via VitalSource (the common digital platform), for all courses and sections participating. A course materials charge is included on the student bill when they have registered for a participating course.

As public pressure continues to mount about the challenges of college costs, federal, state and the USM Board of Regents have enacted laws and policies to specifically reduce the cost of textbooks. The various laws and policies encourage exploring more options for lower cost course materials, including digital materials. UMBC’s Bookstore has tried various options, including textbook rentals, developing a textbook buying guide, and collaborating with faculty for timely textbook adoption, with limited success in reducing costs significantly. CMI was identified as a path to make greater reductions in course material costs. It is intended to provide a broader group of students with cost savings ranging from 15 to 55%, depending on the textbooks and ancillary materials selected with an average savings of 34%. There is also a sense that digital content is the direction the course materials providers are heading, as well as some Maryland public school systems, and it would be helpful to be ahead of that curve.

APA, Cengage, Macmillan, McGraw-Hill, Norton, Pearson, Packback, Oxford, Sage, Taylor and Francis, Wiley and MORE! As long as a publisher has an inclusive access program, we will try to bring them in! Hint: Flag CMI interest when submitting adoptions via the VerbaCollect tool. A Bookstore member will reach out to you if there is potential for CMI participation.

Based on faculty textbook adoptions, the Bookstore with its consultant, identifies the price per the contracts with the publishers to identify those courses with potential for savings to students. Once the draft list of courses is compiled, Bookstore staff contact the applicable Program Directors/Coordinators and individual faculty members to ask if they choose to have their course participate in CMI; based on the faculty decisions, the list of courses participating in CMI is finalized. Orientation for faculty is offered through the Division of Information Technology on the use and available functionality features of the digital platform; a faculty orientation video is available here. Any faculty member who is interested in their course(s) participating in CMI, can send an email directly to the CMI Coordinator.

All students registering for those courses will receive direct communication about the CMI program; and, CMI information is incorporated in the registration materials including course descriptions in PeopleSoft. Students also have a choice of whether to obtain their course materials via CMI or from another source; students have until the end of the schedule adjustment period to make their decision.

Students access them via single sign-in on Blackboard, which includes a link to VitalSource’s bookshelf. Students can download their e-books to their computer, as well as multiple devices for off-line access. If, for any reason, a student encounters difficulty with their content, the Bookstore is available during business hours, and there is 24/7 on-line technical support through publishers available. If a student drops the class during UMBC’s schedule adjustment period, the CMI charge will be refunded. If a student drops the class after the allowed schedule adjustment period, they will not receive a refund, but will be able to maintain access to the course materials through their VitalSource account.

A number of questions and concerns have been raised under this theme. First, charges for course materials provided through CMI are added to a student’s regular tuition and fee bill. Students may pay in the same ways they can pay their regular bills, including applying financial aid and scholarship funds to the charges. Sales tax is added for the materials as digital content is no longer exempt from Maryland sales tax. Students have access to their e-textbook for different durations of time (180 days to 2 years). The shortened duration allows for the most cost savings for students. Students also receive access to ancillary materials, like Aleks and WebAssign, for different durations of time depending on the individual providers.

Students can print up to ten pages per login, at no other cost than the cost of paper and ink. Students may also borrow a physical textbook from the Course Materials desk. Information on the CMI Book Borrowing program can be found above. Students may also opt out of CMI by clicking the opt out button for the course's material in their "My Textbook and Course Resources" tool in Blackboard by the opt-out deadline. They may then purchase their course materials from another source in any format available.

In many cases the publishers can convert custom textbooks to the digital format. If this cannot be done, the course will not be included in CMI.

Students can highlight, take notes, copy/paste and share notes. They also have “Inside the Book” features such as “go to page”, table of contents navigation, page layout changes and multiple viewing options. Assistive technology features include ability to have the book read to the student and changing font sizes. Functionality available to faculty includes ability to create highlights for the entire class, and obtain summary data on pages viewed, highlights, annotations, etc.

The Student Government Association has been very supportive of CMI, and encouraged the Bookstore to proceed with the pilot program for Spring 2016. At that time, the then SGA President, Anthony Jankoski, provided the Bookstore with a letter of endorsement of CMI.

An article in The Retriever Weekly on 3/7/16 noted some concerns with the CMI and concluded that students should be allowed to opt out. Initially, students were able to opt out of CMI by submitting an Opt Out Form to the Course Materials desk. As of Summer 2021, students are now able to opt out of CMI by a simple click of a button from Blackboard. No forms or in-store visits necessary. Alternatives to CMI material are listed on our website for student convenience.

In May, the SGA passed a resolution endorsing the CMI, which can be read here.

In Spring 2016, the Bookstore sent out a survey to all CMI students, click here to review the results.
In Fall 2016, the Bookstore sent out another survey to all CMI students, click here to review the results.

In Fall 2016, the Bookstore sent out a survey to all Faculty participating in CMI, click here to review the results.
In Spring 2017, the Bookstore sent out a survey to all Faculty participating in CMI, click here to review the results.
In Fall 2017, the Bookstore sent out a survey to all Faculty participating in CMI, click here to review the results.
In Spring 2018, the Bookstore sent out a survey to all Faculty participating in CMI, click here to review the results.
In Fall 2018, the Bookstore sent out a survey to all Faculty participating in CMI, click here to review the results.

If the Frequently Asked Questions did not resolve your issue please email the CMI coordinator:
Jocelyn Ochoa-Garcia, [email protected]