Adoption. Management. Delivery.

Ambassador has been powering successful, compliant Inclusive Access and automatic fulfillment initiatives for nearly two decades. With Ambassador’s All-In technology, students automatically receive ALL required course materials, including print and digital, in time for the first day of class. Fees are bundled with tuition or included as a separate resource fee. Plus, Ambassador’s EZ Opt-Out functionality gives students a clear path to decline course materials, including LMS embedded Publisher Direct Content, and keeps schools in compliance with DOE requirements. Learn More >>

Our Online Bookstore solution, branded with each school’s logo and colors, gives students access to order materials anywhere, anytime. Ambassador’s Online Bookstore was designed with a mobile-first, responsive layout, providing users with a mobile friendly experience. There is no difference in functionality between using the Online Bookstore on a laptop/desktop and a mobile device. Additionally, a shortcut “app” icon to our Online Bookstores can easily be added to any tablet and cell phone home screen. Students can easily login or leverage one of our Single Sign-On options 24x7x365 to view a list of materials required for their courses, place their order, access digital content through Ambassador’s Course Materials Platform as well as the school’s LMS or preferred electronic platform, and pay for their purchase by credit and debit cards, PayPal or school voucher/financial aid.

Ambassador enables schools to keep a physical presence to connect with students, yet avoid inventory logistics, costs and associated challenges, while providing the broadest range of print and digital content available. Students go to the online bookstore, which is designed with a responsive, mobile friendly experience, to access print and digital course materials. Digital materials are accessed through Ambassador’s Course Materials Platform and also made available through the school’s LMS or preferred electronic platform. Print textbooks and other items are shipped to the on-campus store, which further facilitates an increase in sales for auxiliary or school logo items at the on-campus store.

Ambassador custom designs an on-campus bookstore branded for the school. We manage all staffing and overhead, including dedicated store managers, additional staff during peak periods, point-of-sale system and software, fixtures and all inventory.

For schools that want to manage distribution themselves and save students time, Ambassador can aggregate all print course materials and deliver them in bulk to the school for distribution. We manage all purchase orders, invoices and payments, and provide the school with one consolidated invoice.

At the core of our course materials ecosystem is RODA, our Course Materials Platform, which administers all transactions, inventory management and digital content offerings (including non-expiring, semester-based or census-based). RODA aggregates all content and applications through a single integration with Ambassador, simplifying the entire course materials experience for students, schools and publishers/vendors. Whether providing print materials, or a variety of digital content, RODA tracks all terms, courses and enrollments and aligns detailed analytics with durations, transactions, duplicates, opt-outs, returns and trends. RODA also eases voucher management, allowing schools to set spending limits, as well as update limits and control expiration dates as appropriate. Through integrations, all transactions are posted to the student ledger. Real-time reporting and forecasting provide critical insights and analysis. Learn More >>

Ambassador’s Course Materials Platform integrates with a school’s SIS, LMS, and Financial Systems, as well as Digital and Publisher Platforms, plus we can manage multiple platforms simultaneously within each institution. Students have seamless access to course materials through Single Sign-On (SSO) functionality, while providing administrators with key insights and intelligence to manage, measure and improve programs and outcomes. Ambassador’s Single Sign-On suite includes integrations through Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) and Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), as well as a proprietary SSO Application Programming Interface (API).

With access to more than 1,000,000 digital resources, Ambassador manages the entire digital content rollout process for eBooks, Access Codes, Codeless Access, Courseware and Publisher Direct Content. We manage digital programs alongside print programs, or for bookstores that want to oversee their own print ordering and fulfillment but don’t have the controls and processes in place for digital programs, they can leverage our Course Materials Platform for digital only. We assist in the selection of the eBook Reader and digital materials; we work with publishers to secure materials; and we manage the school’s digital catalog, licenses and eReader accounts, including automatic license code redemption, cancellation and reconciliation. We configure access for non-expiring, semester-based and census-based digital content and also manage course adds and drops, duplicate access, and opt-outs. For students, we provide easy access at affordable pricing pursuant to the school’s requirements; for schools, we support compliance with Department of Education (DOE) opt-out functionality; for publishers, we prevent access to content for students who opted-out; and for schools and publishers, we verify accurate payments, so schools don’t overpay and publishers receive accurate payments. All transactions are reconciled into consolidated, detailed invoices.

Exclusive EZ Opt-Out functionality takes Ambassador’s All-In Access solution, which facilitates Inclusive Access and automatic fulfillment, to the next level, addressing student choice, compliance and transparency. It provides students with a clear path to decline print and digital course materials, including Publisher Direct Content via LMS link, and it keeps schools in compliance with federal DOE requirements. Additionally, Ambassador’s controls validate opt-outs for varying durations and duplicates. Plus, publishers that integrate with Ambassador’s Course Materials Platform can deny access to students who opt-out, further securing their content. Learn More >>

Providing 360-degree visibility into digital content, Pub PinPoint takes the guesswork out of embedded digital content costs. Ambassador configures access for non-expiring, semester-based and census-based digital content and ensures schools and students only pay for the appropriate duration and publishers are paid correctly and on time. Ambassador aligns enrollment and access data, identifies duplicate access of the same digital content by the same student, manages expiration dates and student opt-outs, and automatically handles returns and credits for dropped students in compliance with publisher policies.

Ambassador guides faculty so they are able to find, evaluate, compare and adopt course materials that can have the greatest impact. We provide transparency around costs and affordability ratings for required course materials and rank alternative sources and formats so faculty can make informed decisions.

We believe in the power of information, and we believe information should be simple to access and use. Our proprietary business intelligence technology gives schools easy access to relevant data so they can apply it in meaningful and actionable ways. Integrating with leading SIS, LMS, and Financial Systems, as well as Digital and Publisher Platforms, RODA provides real-time reporting and analytics to increase data accuracy and reduce data redundancy. This empowers educators and publishers to gain greater visibility into course materials trends, usage and metrics.

Taking the hassle away from schools and publishers, we authenticate a faculty member’s credentials for a desk copy and automatically deliver the data to the publishers to authorize and provision the item in either print or digital format.

Ambassador helps educators assemble robust collections of content, enabling faculty to choose from a diverse library of publishers, web articles, blogs and OER as well as Word, PowerPoint and PDF files. We custom print the content or convert it to a digital resource.

We understand that each institution is unique, each with its own academic methodologies, business strategies, technical resources and student demographics. Our Advisory Services consultants, many of whom hail from senior leadership positions at recognized colleges and universities, assist each institution to ensure it has the proper roles and operational processes in place in order to maximize the student experience, simplify administrative tasks and establish a successful program.

Our solutions include functionality to assist schools in satisfying the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), and Pell Grant Program Integrity Final Rules. We also help institutions comply with student Opt-Out policies as part of the DOE’s Final Rule amending certain Program Integrity and Improvement Regulations as it pertains to course materials, including communicating with students, managing requests, calculating reimbursements and completing the Opt-Out Cycle. We maintain SSAE 18 SOC I Type II compliance for data security and help schools leverage data to prove compliance (for example, using student spending data to predict Cost of Attendance). Additionally, Ambassador is PCI compliant.

Our Course Materials Platform provides publishers and vendors the ability to access reports to view materials transactions, product sales trends and more. This helps publishers plan print runs and maintain inventory levels. We also work with the publishers to secure eBook access, collect and manage digital content, securely store and process the item, verify student eligibility for PODs and report transactions. Plus, publishers that integrate with our Course Materials Platform, RODA, can block students who opt-out of LMS embedded Publisher Direct Content.

Ambassador’s buyback program allows students to sell back their books. Students receive free shipping for buyback orders and upon receipt and successful inspection of the item, they will receive a check or a voucher credit which can applied to their student ledger account, based on the school’s preference.

For course materials shipped to the school, Ambassador’s supply chain software, TAG, simplifies the way the school receives, manages, distributes and tracks packages, and even how returns are handled for refunds. Ambassador pre-bundles packages by student order and automatically logs them for the school. Packages are monitored through timely scanning, student notifications and digital signatures or marked confirmations so that the school knows exactly what has been delivered, what has been picked up, and what can be returned. As a result, the school doesn’t have to worry about the logistics and financial loss for packages that remain on hand, including packages for students who have dropped a course.

Working with thousands of publishers and vendors, we guide faculty in textbook selection based on content, price and availability. We provide access to new and used textbooks as well as rentals, marketplace, workbooks and study guides.

Giving students a choice, we provide instant access to more than 1,000,000 resources, including everything from eBooks, access codes, publisher direct redemption, digital homework tools, custom courseware and study tools, to online self-assessments, quizzes and tests. Students can easily view and retrieve purchased access codes 24x7x365 with the click of a button, even if misplaced. Single Sign-On access is available directly from Ambassador’s Course Materials Platform, as well as through the school’s LMS or preferred electronic platform.

We support the entire OER process, navigating the logistics, systems and management. We guide schools and faculty in finding and recommending relevant and meaningful content so they can assemble and curate resources that align with their teaching and learning objectives. Pre-curated complete courses are also available including all OER content.

Some students prefer to purchase a Print-On-Demand version of a corresponding eBook as it offers a lower cost alternative to a printed textbook. We handle the entire POD process, working with the publishers to secure eBook access, collecting and managing digital content, securely storing and preparing the item for print, authenticating each eBook purchase, verifying student eligibility, facilitating orders and payment (by voucher or credit card depending on the school’s preference) and professionally printing and shipping it. We also report all POD transactions to schools and publishers so they can gain insight into student purchases and trends.

Through our Content Lab, we give faculty the academic freedom they want while helping them assemble robust collections of custom materials. Plus, we print the content or convert it to a digital resource.

We help schools plan, implement and manage device programs that ensure students have the necessary equipment and technology to access their digital course materials. We assess device, laptop and tablet technical requirements, as well as students’ internet connectivity options. Schools don’t have to take on the oversight, inventory and cash outlay for these expensive devices, while leveraging Ambassador’s buying power to drive down costs.

From school spirit wear to other school logo items, we work with schools to ensure access to the highest quality items at their preferred price points. We also assess student demand and purchasing trends to determine inventory quantities and availability.

Ambassador works with its clients to strategize, promote and provide access to additional resources, including kits, supplies, scrubs, uniforms and other non-book items, making sure students are equipped with the necessary materials for hands-on coursework, labs and more.