With Apple's 2009 back-to-school promotion kicking off on Wednesday, the purchase of a qualifying Mac system - namely, iMac, Mac Pro, MacBook, MacBook Pro or MacBook Air - by students and educational staffers entails a $229 rebate for an 8GB iPod Touch.

Along with the college and university students, the others eligible for the iPod Touch rebate include the staff of any public or private K-12 institution in the US, home-tutors, school board members, and the officers of PTA and PTO groups. In addition, the rebate is also available to parents buying a Mac on behalf of children studying in a higher education institution in the US.

Though the promo covers the cost of a Touch in full, some customers who prefer another alternative - like 8GB iPod nano, 16GB iPod nano, 120GB iPod classic, or 4GB iPod shuffle - have the opportunity to go in for lesser rebates that would likewise recompense for the costs of those models.

So as to qualify for the rebate offer, Mac system and the iPod have to be purchased at the same time, before September 8, from some of the authorized Apple online, retail and campus stores.

Apple said: "After you receive your Mac and iPod, submit your claim online by October 8, 2009. Once your claim has been submitted, check your rebate status at any time."