The textbook for the course has been selected!  It was a hard decision since none of the major publishers could meet my kickback demands.  So the textbook had to be selected on its own merits. (Not to mention the fact that I used to be on the faculty at the university where this textbook got its start.) And the winner is...

Laser Fundamentals,by William T. Silfvast (Cambridge University Press, 1996).
ISBN: 0-521-55617-1
Softcover Price: ~$50

It's not my absolute favorite but it's a good introductory text to the physical and engineering principles of laser operation and design written for senior undergraduates or first year graduate students. Silvfast (Physics and Electrical Engineering, U. of Central Florida) road tested the text in his own classes and devotes ample space to examples, and homework problems to bolster the subjects of fundamental wave properties and quantum properties of light, laser amplifiers, laser resonators, laser systems, and frequency multiplication of laser beams. Simple explanations, based throughout on key underlying concepts, lead from the basics of laser action to advanced topics in laser physics and engineering. The text discusses the concepts of amplification, gain-bandwidth, and broadening in detail as well as Q-switching, mode-locking, and waveguide lasers. Numerous applications and examples of actual systems are also provided. Learn everything in this book and you should be all right in this course. It also makes a good door stop and is sure to impress your friends when they see it on your coffee table at home.

The book should be in the bookstores serving the UCO campus.To get the book in a timely fashion,  you will probably want to get it from the UCO bookstore in the Student Center or from Thompsons. If you want, you can order online rather than to go through the bookstores here in town. Both Amazon and Barnes and Noble carry the book. You may be able to get a used copy online at Textbooks.com or eFollets. However, I usually always try bestbookbuys.com first to do some comparative shopping.  There may be other places as well. Most of these places can deliver within three days or so.