UAS Bookstore Survey

1. Please indicate how you principally interact with the UAS Bookstore:

   Valid Missing Mean 46 0 NA As a local student : 39 As a distance (eLearning) student : 5 As an instructor : 1 University employee : 1 Member of the public : 0

 

2. Please indicate where you live:

   Valid Missing Mean 46 0 NA UAS Housing : 9 Juneau community : 34 Outside of Juneau : 3

 

3. The UAS bookstore website provides online ordering of textbooks and merchandise, general information on the bookstore and faculty book adoption information.

   How helpful is the bookstore web site to you?

   Valid Missing Mean 46 0 NA Very helpful : 14 Somewhat helpful : 15 No opinion : 4 Somewhat unhelpful : 3 Very unhelpful : 0 I have never used the web site : 10

 

4. How do you usually buy your text books?

   Valid Missing Mean 46 0 NA Juneau campus bookstore : 24 Juneau online bookstore (MBS Direct) : 4 Other local bookstore : 0 Other online bookstore : 4 Whoever has the best price : 14

   Comments:

   Selected: Juneau online bookstore (MBS Direct) I wish this was local.....it comes from north or south caroline the shipping is huge.....I would rather by local but because the classes are on line this is my only way or amazon. I drop at least one thousand a semester on books and its too bad the money could not stay here local.

   Selected: Whoever has the best price If i cannot afford the prices.

   Selected: Juneau campus bookstore I also buy my textbooks through MBS Direct, especially for all my distance classes.

   Selected: Other online bookstore Not worth it any more to buy from UAS book store

   Selected: Juneau campus bookstore Only because I use financial aid, otherwise I would rather buy online or rent online for cheaper.

   Selected: Juneau campus bookstore On occasion I will also use Amazon, but the UAS bookstore is very helpful for last-minute textbook purchases, especially when online orders are running late or get canceled.

   Selected: Whoever has the best price mostly buy from coursesmart.com (online version of textbooks)

   Selected: Whoever has the best price I usually rent my textbooks online.

   Selected: Other online bookstore My last year I bought all my textbooks from the Bookstore.

   Selected: Juneau campus bookstore Everyone has always been friendly and helpful!

   Selected: Juneau campus bookstore I mainly buy my textbooks at the Juneau campus bookstore, but also Juneau online bookstore for distance classes.

   Selected: Juneau campus bookstore I only do this because of the buy back...though I have been increasingly disappointed with the buy back rates of books. This semester, I bought books that I knew I would want to keep on a different site.

 

5. I use the campus bookstore to purchase:

   Valid Missing Mean 46 0 NA Textbooks : 37 School supplies/backpacks : 24 Art supplies : 13 Clothing : 21 General books : 11 Gifts : 19 I do not shop at the campus bookstore : 4 Other : 1

   Comments:

   Selected: Clothing I would love to buy my books local but online you go out of state.

   Selected: General books I don't really see any other items besides books,

   Selected: They have a really fun selection of school supplies and gifts, I'm always surprised by their fun selection.

   Selected: Even though it is really expensive

   Selected: The bookstore is well managed and looks very nice. I always like to go in there and it is a nice presence a face for the University in the area down closer to DeHarts. It was even more so when we had the large bank-style clock with temperature and the higher-up UAS sign. Not sure why that was taken out (or not just replaced) - it was a landmark and a good advertisement for both the bookstore and UAS.

   Selected: I really like the UAS stuff like mugs, sweaters, etc.  I also really enjoy the artsy gifts you can buy there.  However, the prices can be pretty outrageous.

 

6. Do you use the bookstore to purchase books using financial aid or agency funding prior to disbursement?

   Valid Missing Mean 46 0 NA Yes : 46 No : 0

 

7. Looking ahead, what are the best things about the current UAS Bookstore that UAS should strive to preserve?

   Valid Missing Mean 30 16 NA

   Comments:

   The ability to use financial aid to purchase things

   I think that the prompt and helpful customer service is the UAS Bookstore's best feature. A person is so much easier to deal with then any website or machine.

   Textbooks and UAS logo clothing

   provide more up to date stuff and also affordable pricing

   It's a beautiful bookstore with great gifts.

   I really like how colorful the bookstore is, as a student in Alaska there just aren't many other places to go that have the kinds of treasures they have. I appreciate their stock of art supplies, clothing, school supplies (including yoga), bags, and fair trade items. The staff is always very friendly and helpful and their location is perfect now that all the construction has stopped. I do wish they would make their new sign more clear, several visitors I have talked to get very confused because you can't see the lettering of the green part and they think the bookstore is the main campus. I would also really like it if they put a clock on the sign like their used to be.

   A physical location.

   As it stands, the bookstore is a nice convenient place to get my textbooks.  I can walk in, get a list of what I need, and be done and know that I'll have my books on time.  It would be a pain in the butt to get them if it wasn't there, and I don't trust the internet.

   I like the hats and gift ideas that the bookstore has. It's great that there are some affordable items.

   showcase of local artwork, clothing, and well-priced art supplies

   UAS theme clothing items to sell as gifts.

   Find a way to have enough text books for students Cut costs of books - can go on line and get the same book for cheaper, and when you buy the books back you get nothing for them might as well donate. or keep them.....

   I like how you can ask what books you'll need for certain classes.

   Location, employee demeanor and helpfulness, and the fun feel and decoration of the store.

   I love the selection of university sweatshirts, textbooks, and miscellaneous artsy things.

   variety of items

   Where it is. The atmosphere inside. The art. The nice gifts. This is a really good place and what many students (and parents) first see when they show up for the semester. Please don't change it.

   Customer service is fantastic

   Textbooks (if they're at a reasonable price), UAS gear including hats and sweaters etc., other artsy trinkets, art supplies for art students (even though I never bought them because I'm not an art student), being able to charge your purchases to your UAS account.

   Variety

   The great selection of UAS apperal

   The staff was always helpful, so keep them!

   It got a great array of supplies, books, and gift stuff

   They should definitely keep the gift section, UAS clothing, and general supplies in tact. I feel the whole textbook industry should be renovated to better suit the needs of the students, and until that is done, the UAS bookstore will still have problems.

   N/A

   Open on Saturdays

   The diversity of the products available and the *extremely* helpful    staff.

   I like the variety of merchandise available

   friendly staff, great merchandice

   N/A

 

8. Looking ahead, what changes or new or enhanced services should UAS consider for the bookstore?

   Valid Missing Mean 29 17 NA

   Comments:

   Lower more competitive prices

   what ever class there is there should be a way to keep the money local to uas and not the lower 48 where 50 dollars a book for shipping is added,......

   Better selection and branding for logo apparel, using the real UAS logo, and more affordable prices. Sweatshirts shouldn't be $50!

   I think that the book list for all classes should be compiled in a place that students can view it without physically going to the bookstore or MBS.

   More Ray Troll/UAS designs on clothing. Also, more student/teacher artworks should be displayed here, for sale or otherwise.

   less and less graphics because us online students have a very very SLOW internet services.

   The bookstore prices are incredibly expensive.  It would be nice to see other more Alaskan things in there too along with some of the fair trade stuff.  Also, as an MPA student, it would be nice to have the MPA textbooks available at the bookstore instead of through MBS Direct (especially because I think there are a lot of local people who do the program and that could also entice them to look around the bookstore and maybe buy stuff).

   It would be nice to be able to rent books over the course of a semester but I can't think of much else.

   Expand the selection of non textbook materials.

   It's always helpful to have textbooks at affordable prices. Also, I don't see why more used textbooks aren't available. Students are poor. When I first went into the bookstore to buy books, I couldn't even see the textbook section. It doesn't seem like education is much of the focus of the bookstore.

   Better deals for students to purchase and receive money or store credit back for their books

   cheaper prices on school textbooks.

   They should have a book rental program like UAA.

   Lower prices- college students do not have large amounts of money and almost everything in the store is overpriced- makes it less likely for some students to purchase items other than textbooks.

   You may make money off renting books because students already to it from places outside of Juneau. It doesn't really both me, but it seems kind of silly that it isn't located on the main campus. Is this to try to make money off non UAS customers? If so it seems like the students should be the priority. If you want to but a pen or a notebook in between classes you have to spend 20 minutes walking there and back currently.

   you need to be sure that the correct books for all classes are actually listed for the classes.

   I think that they need to cut down on the prices of things. I know that it's high quality stuff but it's way too expensive. I would like to see more artwork!

   The brick and mortar bookstore is awesome. I wouldn't change much. It would be nice to see electronic textbook options, and the current website is too rigid. There should be options that let vendors compete for the best price, etc. That's what people are going to do anyway.

   Lowering prices to match the competitive online market.  Personally, when I ordered my graduation invitations from the UAS bookstore, I thought they could have been much nicer.  Not only were they not on very prestigious looking paper, but they had been folded so terribly that I was embarrassed sending them out.  I would recommend to anyone to make their own graduation invitations after getting mine in that condition.

   Lowering the prices would be great. We are BROKE college students and it is hard to afford anything in there.

   Some of the staff are very unprofessional when helping students find supplies they need: ie being rude, disrespectful, pushy, and snappy. Some customers are first time college students that have never bought books before and the staff should keep that in mind when a customer is confused.

   None (I'm also graduating).

   It's already a great little store, I think it would get utilized more for buying supplies and such if it were actually on campus.

   The UAS bookstore should look for a better way to do the buy back system. Currently I don't feel students are being properly compensated for returning their books at the end of semester. Maybe if they ramped up their general book section, they might get more business outside of the university.

   N/A

   Buy back more books

   perhaps a book delivery system?

   move the bookstore onto the campus, it is impossible to get to between classes for merchandise you may have forgotten to bring. also make it bigger, the aisles can be to tight to move through effectively.

   Giving students the opportunity to purchase books even though they have not received their financial aid disbursement.