CLASS Program - Alternative-format Textbooks
Types of Alternative Format Textbooks
(This only applies if you are eligible for alternative-format textbooks)
KurzweilWe convert text materials using the computer program Kurzweil 3000. The textbook binding is cut, and the pages are scanned and converted into Kurzweil. The books are then spiral-bound and returned to the student. We burn the converted textbooks onto a CD, which can be used in your PC or Macintosh and on computers in the campus computer labs.
RFB&DAnother format of alternative textbooks is audio CDs from Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D). These CDs require a special Telex player, which can be checked out from the Groves Lab for free. You will be required to sign an Equipment Check-Out Agreement for any of the machines you use during a given semester.
DaisyIn the event that books are not available through RFB&D, we can create an audio CD of your textbooks. It takes approximately two to three weeks to convert and edit these Daisy audio books. You will need the Telex for these as you do for RFB&D discs.
Ordering
You are responsible for ordering alternative format textbooks once you register for the next semester’s classes. Your Specialist can assist you in filling out this form. Please request alternative format textbooks only if you plan to use them. We spend considerable time and money processing these books and this is wasted if students order alternative formats but do not pick them up. If you are unsure about whether you want to use them, talk with Rebecca Lund or your Specialist before completing the form.
Forms will be processed in the order that they are received, but timing can also depend on when we receive the textbooks from you or when they are available in the Bookstore.
If you choose to access textbooks in alternative format, your textbooks will be charged to your student bookstore account.
If you make any changes to your class schedule, please notify the Accommodations Specialist immediately, otherwise we will charge you for and process the textbooks for the classes you listed on your initial Alternative-format Request form.
Because of copyright laws, you must purchase the printed textbook in order to get access to the alternative format version.
CHECKING OUT ALTERNATIVE-FORMAT TEXTS
You can pick up your alternative format textbooks in the Groves Computer Lab, Foss 17A at the beginning of each semester.
Please check each CD to make sure that it corresponds to the books required for the courses you are taking, and that the CD can be read by your equipment.
There will be a charge of $2 for each CD that you request but do not pick up. You will then need to speak with you Specialist before ordering alternative-format textbooks again.
Getting Kurzweil
If you are eligible for Kurzweil 3000, a read-only version will be installed on your PC or Macintosh desktop or laptop by the IT Department during their posted Groves Lab hours. You must continue to be eligible to receive alternative format textbooks in order to have Kurzweil 3000 reinstalled each academic year. If you no longer use Kurzweil or you withdraw from Augsburg College, you must have IT uninstall Kurzweil from your computer.
RETURNING MATERIAL
All RFB&D CDs and equipment must be returned to the Accommodations Specialist at the end of each semester. Any Kurzweil CDs or burned Daisy Cds do not need to be returned.
Fines
All equipment needs to be returned in the same condition in which you received it, otherwise replacement cost, or fines, may be applied to your student account.
