Imagine walking up to the cashier at University Bookstore as a freshman or sophomore. Your arms are laden with heavy tomes that have nothing to do with your major but are the texts for required classes.

Money is tight, and frankly, you cannot afford to pay another couple of hundred dollars for books. But then, in what seems like a miracle, the cashier looks at you, smiles, and says, “No charge.”

Could it happen?

At the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and at 21 other universities across the country, it happens every day.

“At this university we use this as a promotional item,” said Candy Wilson, former Eau Claire bookstore manager. “It’s a big positive in recruitment and in teaching quality. It’s one of our strong points.”

All courses at UWEC are guaranteed to have one rental.

“I managed the store for 10 years, and in that time I’ve seen savings of anywhere from $250 to $400,” she added.

Wilson explained the book-rental policy, paid for by student segregated fees, had been in place since the school was founded. A textbook rental for a semester in 1916 was $5. Now, students are charged seg fees of $70 that cover the cost of renting books for a term, among other things.

“It’s pretty much budget-driven,” Wilson said.

Students may choose to buy rented books, at any time, for 25 percent off the market price.

Camille Weixel, the current bookstore manager, seemed less enthusiastic about the policy. “The book has to be used for six semesters before it can be rented,” she said. She mentioned some students had had trouble with different editions of the book in the same class and the timeliness of a book at least three years old.

“There are times when I don’t think renting is the best option,” Weixel said. “The students who are smarter don’t like it.”

Steve Schiebel of Madison’s University Bookstore agreed with Weixel.

“No prestigious university does that,” he said. “The education will be better without it. The university faculty is not set up to do it. There’s very few faculty that commit to a group curriculum.”

Schiebel explained several different instructors, with different focuses and material, could teach the same course from semester to semester. This makes using textbooks over and over again impossible.

Weixel disagreed on this point, though.

“Basic math obviously doesn’t change. Short stories don’t change. For things like that, and anthologies, I think the system works great,” Weixel said.

Wilson did admit the program’s application to another university would come only after a lot of hard work.

“The problem is building their store of books,” she said. “For anyone to start it, start building your collection now.”

Wilson also said the project must be universally accepted.

“You need consensus support and funding. But if the students want it bad enough, they can have it.”