Textbook Information

Students taking courses which use the McGraw-Hill Connect/SmartBook program (mostly business and/or accounting courses, but several other courses as well--currently ALH125/235 and MA diploma courses in Lancaster) will automatically have access to that program.  (The access is paid for with the Course Materials Fee--see box below on this page.)

However, students will need to register themselves, at the beginning of the term, in each course--essentially joining the class within the program.  (You will only need to do this once for each course.)

• After accessing the course in Blackboard, access a Connect/SmartBook assignment.
• On the course Welcome page, enter your Central Penn email address
• If you have used Connect/SmartBook in previous courses, enter the password you used then

**If you have never taken a course which uses the Connect/SmartBook program, you will need to create an account with McGraw-Hill.  You will only need to do that once to have an account for all courses.

Please see the detailed instructions (with screenshots) in the PDF file below.  If you have any questions or problems, please contact the school's Textbook Coordinator (TextbookCoordinator@centralpenn.edu)

Although much of student work within the McGraw-Hill program is on specific assignments, it is also possible to access the full ebook (electronic version) of the textbook used in the course.

When you are on the main/home screen for your course (which has the list of assignments), you will see a link to the book (with a picture of the book cover) either to the right or left of the assignment list.  (The example below has the link to the left.)

**If you do not see the assignment list when accessing Connect from Blackboard, try logging in to Connect from outside of Blackboard.

Students taking almost all Business (BUS) and Accounting (ACC) courses, along with a few other courses (subject to change, indicated in the Student Portal) will be charged a "course materials fee" when they register for the affected courses.  This will allow students to have full access, from the first day of class, to the McGraw-Hill Connect/SmartBook program without needing to do anything except log in to Blackboard. 

• Students will not need to do anything except register for courses as they normally do--there are not extra steps involved on the student side.
• The fee will be added to students' accounts with the Business Office, to be paid however they normally pay for tuition, fees, etc.
• This fee means that students will NOT need to purchase a textbook or any other materials for the included courses.
• Students do have the option of "opting out" of the automatic fee being charged to their tuition bill, but then they will be responsible for providing proof of purchase to the school's Textbook Coordinator--the materials purchased MUST include the online access to the Connect/SmartBook program, not just a print/ebook of the textbook.

There are a few business courses that do not use the McGraw-Hill program, so students will still be responsible for purchasing books/materials as needed for those courses.

Any questions about the course materials fee, including the procedure for opting out, please contact the Textbook Coordinator (TextbookCoordinator@centralpenn.edu).  Please contact the Textbook Coordinator BEFORE purchasing any materials yourself if you are considering the opt-out.