Subject: Regulation FPU Textbook Adoption and Affordability

Transcription

1 AGENDA ITEM: V E Florida Polytechnic University Board of Trustees February 21, 2014 Subject: Regulation FPU Textbook Adoption and Affordability Proposed Board Action Approve regulation FPU Textbook Adoption and Affordability. Background Information The Higher Education Opportunity Act was enacted in 2008 in effort to maximize the affordability of higher education in the face of escalating textbook costs. The Higher Education Opportunity Act establishes certain requirements, with which the University must comply in order to accommodate students by allowing for the ability to exercise textbook cost control. The terms necessary for compliance with this federal mandate are provided by Florida Statutes, Section and the corresponding provisions, which detail University implementation guidelines and requirements are provided by Florida Board of Governors ( BOG ) regulation Florida Statutes, Section on Textbook Affordability provides the specific requirements pertaining to the University regarding the selection, adoption and posting of required textbook information for each course offering. Section (4) provides the BOG implementation authority by requiring the adoption of policies, procedures and guidelines for state universities to follow. BOG regulation on Textbook Adoption requires the University Board of Trustees to adopt a regulation that establishes textbook adoption procedures in effort to minimize the cost of textbooks for students while also maintaining the quality of education and academic freedom. Regulation further provides terms for implementation that require University regulations to provide, at minimum, the following: (1) A deadline for the adoption of textbooks each term that provides sufficient lead time for bookstores to confirm the availability of the requested materials and, where possible, maximize the number of used books available. (2) A deadline for posting, on the University s website, a list of specific identifying information for any required textbook(s) for each course offering during the term, to be set no later than thirty (30) days prior to the first day of classes for that term. (3) Any request for an exception to the deadline shall be in writing and submitted to the appropriate University official prior to the deadline and shall provide a reasonable justification for the exception. Agenda Item V E: FPU Textbook Adoption and Affordability 1

2 (4) A determination to be made, prior to adoption, of the extent to which a new edition differs significantly and substantively from earlier versions and the value of changing to a new edition. (5) A procedure to document the intent, prior to adoption, to use all items ordered, including each individual item sold as part of a bundled package. (6) A procedure to make required textbooks for each course offering available to students who cannot otherwise afford the cost. (7) A procedure by which students can obtain required textbooks prior to receipt of their financial aid distribution, when necessary. BOG regulation also articulates specific benefits University employees may or may not receive in the selection and use of course textbooks and instructional materials. FPU was drafted in accordance with the applicable laws and regulation and provides the necessary language to bring it into compliance with the law. FPU was noticed on the University s website on January 8, 2014; no comments were received during the review and comment period. In addition, the Academic Affairs Committee reviewed and discussed this regulation on January 14, 2014 and voted to recommend that the Board adopt this regulation. Supporting Documentation: New FPU Textbook Adoption and Affordability Regulation Section , Florida Statutes BOG regulation Textbook Adoption Prepared by: Erin Varnell, Assistant Attorney Agenda Item V E: FPU Textbook Adoption and Affordability 2

3 FPU Textbook Adoption and Affordability. (1) Purpose. This regulation establishes the University s textbook selection and adoption procedures that support the effort to minimize the cost of textbooks for students while maintaining the quality of education and academic freedom, in accordance with Florida Board of Governors ( BOG ) regulation This regulation also articulates specific benefits University employees may or may not receive in relation to the selection and use of course instructional materials. (2) Textbook Adoption Procedures. The Vice President of Academic Affairs or designee shall establish textbook and instructional material adoption deadlines for each academic term, which shall be set no later than thirty (30) days prior to the first day of classes for each term in order for the bookstore to confirm the availability of the requested materials and, where possible, maximize the number of used books available. Any request for an exception to the deadline shall be submitted, in writing, to the Vice President of Academic Affairs prior to the established deadline and shall provide a reasonable justification for an exception. Each instructor must provide the University bookstore with textbook and instructional material adoption information for each course he/she has been assigned to teach (such information shall include notification that no textbook or instructional materials will be required or recommended for the course, if applicable), in accordance with the requirements specified in this regulation, as early as reasonably possible but no later than the deadline established by the Vice President of Academic Affairs for each academic term. (3) Textbook Adoption Information. Each instructor shall be responsible for the timely submission of textbook adoption information for each course the instructor has been assigned to teach, and such information shall provide, at minimum: (a) sufficient information detailing any and all instructional material(s), including textbook(s), that the instructor will require students who are enrolled in the course to purchase; (b) a statement of the intent of the course instructor, or academic department offering the course, to use, during the term of the course, all instructional materials that the instructor is requiring students enrolled in the course to purchase, including each individual item sold as a part of a bundled package, unless the individual items from the bundled package would cost more, if purchased separately, than the package as a whole; and (c) if the course instructor, or academic department offering the course, is selecting a new edition of a textbook, a statement reflecting the determination by the course instructor or academic department of the extent to which the new edition differs significantly and substantively from earlier versions and the value of changing to a new edition. (4) Textbook Posting Deadline. Not less than thirty (30) days prior to the first day of class scheduled for each term, the University will publish on its website a list of each textbook required for each course offering during the upcoming term. Textbook information for classes added after the posting deadline or when exceptions to the deadline have been approved by the Vice President of Academic Affairs shall be posted immediately as such information becomes available. The information published to students shall provide the following for all course textbooks and instructional materials that students are required to purchase: Agenda Item V E: FPU Textbook Adoption and Affordability 3

4 (a) the International Standard Book Number (ISBN), or (b) other identifying information which shall include, at a minimum: 1. title 2. all authors listed; 3. publishers; 4. edition number; 5. copyright date; 6. published date; and 7. other relevant information necessary to identify the specific textbook. (5) Financial Aid Procedures. The Director of Financial Aid or designee shall publish, on the University website, the procedure for students to follow that make required textbooks for each course offering available to students who cannot afford the cost. Students with confirmed financial aid eligibility may choose to enter into an advance purchase arrangement with the University to purchase course textbooks at the University Bookstore up to the approved purchase amount. (6) Employee Prohibitions. No University employee may demand or receive any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, service, or anything of value, present or promised, in exchange for requiring students to purchase a specific textbook for coursework or instruction. However, an employee may receive (subject to the requirements of the Florida Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees, the University s Code of Conduct, and the outside activity and conflict of interest requirements set forth by University rules, regulations, and policies) the following: (a) Sample copies, instructor copies, or instructional materials. These materials may not be sold for any type of compensation if they are specifically marked as free samples not for resale. (b) Royalties or other compensation from sales of textbooks that include the instructor s own writing or work. (c) Honoraria for academic peer review of course materials. (d) Fee associated with activities such as reviewing, critiquing, or preparing support materials for textbooks. (e) Training in the use of course materials and learning technologies. Authority: , F.S., BOG regulation History: New: RLD Agenda Item V E: FPU Textbook Adoption and Affordability 4

5 Textbook affordability. (1) No employee of a Florida College System institution or state university may demand or receive any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, service, or anything of value, present or promised, in exchange for requiring students to purchase a specific textbook for coursework or instruction. (2) An employee may receive: (a) Sample copies, instructor copies, or instructional materials. These materials may not be sold for any type of compensation if they are specifically marked as free samples not for resale. (b) Royalties or other compensation from sales of textbooks that include the instructor's own writing or work. (c) Honoraria for academic peer review of course materials. (d) Fees associated with activities such as reviewing, critiquing, or preparing support materials for textbooks pursuant to guidelines adopted by the State Board of Education or the Board of Governors. (e) Training in the use of course materials and learning technologies. (3) Florida College System institutions and state universities shall post on their websites, as early as is feasible, but not less than 30 days prior to the first day of class for each term, a list of each textbook required for each course offered at the institution during the upcoming term. The posted list must include the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for each required textbook or other identifying information, which must include, at a minimum, all of the following: the title, all authors listed, publishers, edition number, copyright date, published date, and other relevant information necessary to identify the specific textbook or textbooks required for each course. The State Board of Education and the Board of Governors shall include in the policies, procedures, and guidelines adopted under subsection (4) certain limited exceptions to this notification requirement for classes added after the notification deadline. (4) The State Board of Education and the Board of Governors each shall adopt policies, procedures, and guidelines for implementation by Florida College System institutions and state universities, respectively, that further efforts to minimize the cost of textbooks for students attending such institutions while maintaining the quality of education and academic freedom. The policies, procedures, and guidelines shall provide for the following: (a) That textbook adoptions are made with sufficient lead time to bookstores so as to confirm availability of the requested materials and, where possible, ensure maximum availability of used books. (b) That, in the textbook adoption process, the intent to use all items ordered, particularly each individual item sold as part of a bundled package, is confirmed by the course instructor or the academic department offering the course before the adoption is finalized. (c) That a course instructor or the academic department offering the course determines, before a textbook is adopted, the extent to which a new edition differs significantly and substantively from earlier versions and the value of changing to a new edition or the extent to which an openaccess textbook may exist and be used. (d) That the establishment of policies shall address the availability of required textbooks to students otherwise unable to afford the cost, including consideration of the extent to which an open-access textbook may be used. (e) That course instructors and academic departments are encouraged to participate in the development, adaptation, and review of open-access textbooks and, in particular, open-access textbooks for high-demand general education courses. History. s. 1, ch ; s. 4, ch ; s. 45, ch Agenda Item V E: FPU Textbook Adoption and Affordability 5

6 8.003 Textbook Adoption (1) Each university board of trustees shall adopt a regulation that establishes textbook adoption procedures to minimize the cost of textbooks for students while maintaining the quality of education and academic freedom. At a minimum, the regulation shall provide for the following: (a) A deadline for the adoption of textbooks each term that shall provide sufficient lead time for bookstores to confirm the availability of the requested materials and, where possible, maximize the number of used books available. (b) A procedure to document the intent of the course instructor or the academic department offering the course to use all items ordered, including each individual item sold as part of a bundled package, before the adoption is finalized. (c) A determination by the course instructor or academic department offering the course, before a textbook is adopted, of the extent to which a new edition differs significantly and substantively from earlier versions and the value of changing to a new edition. (d) A procedure to make required textbooks for each course offering available to students who otherwise cannot afford the cost of the textbook. (e) A procedure by which students can obtain required textbooks prior to receipt of their financial aid distribution, when necessary. (f) A deadline for posting a list of each required textbook for each course offering for the upcoming term on the university s website. The deadline shall be no later than thirty (30) days prior to the first day of classes for each term, and any request for an exception to the deadline shall be submitted in writing to the appropriate university official prior to the deadline and shall provide a reasonable justification for an exception. The posted list shall include the following information for each required textbook: 1. the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) or 2. other identifying information which shall include, at a minimum: (a) all authors listed, (b) publishers, (c) edition number, (d) copyright date, (e) published date, and (f) other relevant information necessary to identify the specific textbook required for each course. (2) No employee of a state university may demand or receive any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, service, or anything of value, present or promised, in exchange for requiring students to purchase a specific textbook for Agenda Item V E: FPU Textbook Adoption and Affordability 6

7 coursework or instruction. However, an employee may receive, subject to the requirements of the Florida Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees and the outside activity and conflict of interest requirements set forth in university regulations and collective bargaining agreements: (a) Sample copies, instructor copies, or instructional materials. These materials may not be sold for any type of compensation if they are specifically marked as free samples not for resale. (b) Royalties or other compensation from sales of textbooks that include the instructor s own writing or work. (c) Honoraria for academic peer review of course materials. (d) Fee associated with activities such as reviewing, critiquing, or preparing support materials for textbooks. (e) Training in the use of course materials and learning technologies. Authority: Section 7(d), Art. IX, Fla. Const.; History: New Agenda Item V E: FPU Textbook Adoption and Affordability 7