Textbook Affordability and Adoption (Procedure 5.2100)

Purpose 

The College establishes this procedure for adoption of instructional materials and other course materials with the goal of minimizing the cost to students, while achieving desired course learning outcomes, and maintaining quality education and maintaining academic freedom. 

Procedure
A. Responsibility 

• Faculty should be well-informed regarding the current and new instructional materials available in their disciplines and should strive for consensus in making recommendations for the instructional materials to be adopted by their departments. The adopted instructional materials should:
  1. support achievement of course learning outcomes, 
  2. be adaptable to a variety of learning styles, 
  3. represent good value for students; 
  4. be selected through a cost benefit analyses that enables students to obtain the highest quality product at the lowest available price and includes consideration of the items listed in Section 1004.085(6)(g), F.S.,  
     1. The length of time that textbooks and instructional materials remain in use, prioritizing textbooks and instructional materials that will remain in use for a minimum of three (3) years; and 
     2. Course-wide adoption, specifically for general education courses 
• Faculty are required to teach from the adopted instructional materials and use all materials required for the course by the department. Faculty may not select alternate or additional texts without permission of their department administrators. 
• Department administrators and academic administrators are responsible for ensuring that instructional materials are selected using the College’s established textbook adoption process, protocols and timelines. 
• Faculty, or department administrators on behalf of faculty, must meet the instructional materials bookstore adoption deadlines for each term, which shall be no later than 45 days prior to the first day of classes. 
  1. When courses or sections for existing courses are added after the 45-day deadline, instructional materials for such courses and sections shall be adopted as soon as feasible to ensure sufficient lead time.
• Department administrators and academic administrators will collect and maintain, before instructional materials adoption is finalized, written or electronically transmitted certifications from course instructors attesting that all instructional materials items ordered will be used, including each individual item sold as part of a bundled package. 
• Faculty, or department administrators, must acquire from publishers a description of the content revisions made between the current edition and proposed new edition of required instructional materials. 
• Course instructors and academic departments are encouraged to participate in the development, adaptation, and review of open-access instructional materials, particularly for high- demand general education courses. 

B. Instructional Materials Adoption Process 

1. Bookstore managers shall publish instructional materials adoption deadlines that are at least 45 days prior to the first day of classes. The adoption deadlines are: 
   1. Fall classes: June 1 
   2. Spring classes: October 15 
   3. Summer classes: February 15 
2. Faculty or department administrators on behalf of faculty, shall submit instructional materials orders to the bookstore by the published adoption deadlines. 
3. Each department shall maintain, before instructional materials adoption is finalized, written or electronically transmitted certifications from course instructors as described in paragraph A.4.above. 
4. Each department shall maintain, before instructional materials adoption is finalized, written or electronically published descriptions of the content revisions made between the current edition and proposed new edition of required instructional materials as described in paragraph A.5 above. 
5. By no later than one week after the adoption deadline dates, bookstore managers shall provide the academic and department administrators with a list of any scheduled courses for which instructional materials adoptions have not been received. Academic and department administrators shall follow-up to ensure that any outstanding adoptions are immediately finalized and submitted to the bookstore. 
6. Academic and department administrators shall work with faculty to ensure that instructional materials adoptions for courses/class sections added after the 45-day deadline are certified by the faculty member, adopted, and submitted to the bookstore as soon as feasible to ensure sufficient lead time. 
7. Upon receiving timely instructional materials adoptions from faculty and department administrators, bookstore managers shall post on the College’s website, as early as feasible, but not less than forty-five (45) days prior to the first day of classes for each term, a hyperlink to lists of required and recommended instructional materials for each course and course section offered at the College during the upcoming term. For those classes added after the forty-five (45) day notification deadline, bookstore managers shall post instructional materials information on the College’s website as such information becomes available from department administrators. Faculty may not add required instructional materials after the web posting, except as provided by statute 
8. For each required and recommended textbook and instructional materials, the posted list must include:
   The International Standard Book Number (ISBN), or other identifying information including at a minimum, all of the following: 
   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 instructional materials required and recommended for each course.
9. The lists of required and recommended textbooks and instructional materials will remain posted and available to current and prospective students for at least 5 academic years in an easily searchable and downloadable format by the course subject, course number, course title, instructor’s name, title of each assigned textbook or instructional material, and each author of an assigned textbook or instructional material.  
10. Course sections where no textbook is required, or no-cost open educational resources are used, will be indicated with an icon to indicate their status as zero cost. The Zero Textbook Cost Indicator developed by the Florida Postsecondary Academic Library Network will be used for this purpose pursuant to Section 1006.73(4), F.S. 
11. Bookstore managers will work to secure a sufficient supply of new and used instructional materials in order to meet the anticipated need. 
12. Bookstore managers are encouraged to notify department administrators when they become aware of significant numbers of returns of required instructional materials and materials by students during the first few weeks of the term. 
13. Faculty teaching general education core course options identified pursuant to s. 150 1007.25, shall post course syllabi information at least 45 days prior to the start of the course. The syllabi must, at a minimum, contain sufficient detail to inform students of all of the following information: 
    1. The course curriculum.  
    2. The goals, objectives, and student expectations of the course.  
    3. How student performance will be measured. 
    4. Textbook and course materials.