If you’ve ever found yourself mid-rush with a hundred things to juggle—cashiering, online orders, textbook questions and suddenly realized, “I still need to set up my catalog in Connect,” then trust me: you're not alone.
As part of the VitalSource Learn training series, I recently hosted a session on Timelines & Rush Readiness to help ease some of that pressure. Whether you’re new to Verba Connect or a seasoned pro, this program is designed to make the hectic term start a little more manageable for you, your team, and your students.
So, What Is Rush Readiness?
Rush Readiness is a framework our team developed to help campus stores set up their Verba Connect catalogs on time and with less stress. It includes 13 core tasks (plus a few bonus ones) that span from the kickoff email all the way to a final catalog audit before the first day of class. Each task is carefully timed and supported by our enablement and operations teams, so you’re never going it alone.
Think of it as your backstage pass to term-start success. We’re checking your catalog’s activation status, verifying enrollment mapping, making sure opt-out windows make sense, and proactively flagging issues so they don’t catch you off guard later.
Why We Built This (and Why It Matters)
Our mission is simple: to ensure students have access to their course materials on day one. But we know that behind that goal is a lot of coordination. Catalog setup doesn’t always rise to the top of the to-do list, especially when you're pulled in ten directions.
Rush Readiness was built to support that reality. It’s not just a checklist; it’s a collaborative process that helps reduce instructor complaints, student confusion, and last-minute emergencies. Since we implemented the program, we’ve seen catalogs getting created about three weeks earlier on average, and a sharp drop in issues flagged after term start.
Best Practices We Love to See
Here are a few pro tips I shared during the session that I want to call out again:
Early adoptions matter - Early course material adoptions are essential to institutional preparedness and play a critical role in setting students up for success. When faculty submit their resource selections ahead of term deadlines it provides the necessary time to validate course content, helping to create a seamless, fully prepared “Day One Ready” experience for every student.
Start early: The earlier you build items and schedules, the more time we have to verify pricing, rights, and access settings.
Communicate with publishers: Your local reps don’t always receive the reports we send centrally, sharing key info with them directly helps avoid delivery mismatches.
Don’t fear early activation: Activating your catalog doesn’t give students access until their LMS courses go live, but it does ensure welcome emails and access codes go out smoothly.
We're Here for You
I’ve been at VitalSource for five years now and in that time, I’ve seen how important it is for bookstores to have clear support, timely information, and a partner they can rely on. That’s what our Rush Readiness effort is all about. If you ever need a refresher or run into a question you can’t solve solo, don’t hesitate to reach out. The Customer Enablement team is always just an email away at success@vitalsource.com.
Thanks to everyone who joined the training live, and if you missed it, you can find all the recordings here. Until then, remember: Rush Readiness is your friend.
