Academics

LionPATH and Penn State Bookstore make buying textbooks easier

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Thanks to new LionPATH functionality, students will experience more efficiency when viewing their books for upcoming semesters and purchasing them through the Penn State Bookstore. A new link at the bottom of the class schedule displays a complete list of books for a semester and the ability to purchase them all in one shopping cart.

Current way to view books for a class will remain available

To view books for their classes, most students currently have to click the “View Books” link for each class listed in “My Class Schedule.” To purchase those books online, a shopping cart is created for each class. If a student has five classes, five separate shopping carts are created to purchase those books. The View Books links for individual classes will remain part of LionPATH for the purpose of viewing and purchasing books on a per-class basis.

New link allows students to view all books for an entire semester

The new View Books link allows students to see a complete list of books for all of their classes in one shopping cart and conduct just one transaction. Before purchasing, students can select which books to keep and which to remove while in the shopping cart.

Purchasing books online is made possible through a partnership with Barnes & Noble College and the Penn State Bookstore. The link is not applicable to classes taken through World Campus or Hershey Campus.

The new View Books link appears in both the Classic and Student views of LionPATH in My Class Schedule.

  • In the Classic view, the link is located below the list of classes.

  • In the Student view, students click the Class Schedule Details link at the bottom of My Class Schedule. The View Books link is located below the list of classes.

LionPATH was the first enterprise system to be implemented by the Enterprise Project Management Office. The second enterprise system, WorkLion, the University’s human resource and payroll system launched in December 2017. The University’s third enterprise system, SIMBA, will replace the current IBIS system and is scheduled to launch in July 2020.

Last Updated December 11, 2018