I just received an interesting email from our bookstore regarding a course I'm teaching outside of the law school, the passage that caught my eye was this:
Due to the requirements of the Higher Education Opportunity Act PL 110-315, we must comply by providing the book list for each course offering on our class schedule earlier than we have been accustomed. In this case, for the spring 2011 semester, the deadline for your list of required textbook/s is October 20, 2010. This allows time for the bookstore to search for most cost effective texts available to them and our budget minded students.
That got me a little curious about what exactly PL 110-315 says about textbooks. I found some guidance here. With regard to textbooks the Higher Education Opportunity Act in Section 133 states (as summarized by the Department of Education):
The HEOA supports the academic freedom of faculty to select high quality course materials for their students while imposing several new provisions to ensure that students have timely access to affordable course materials at postsecondary institutions receiving Federal financial assistance. These provisions support that effort and include the following:
- When textbook publishers provide information on a college textbook or supplemental material to faculty in charge of selecting course materials at postsecondary institutions, that information must be in writing (including electronic communication) and must include
- the price of the textbook;
- the copyright dates of the three previous editions (if any);
- a description of substantial content revisions;
- whether the textbook is available in other formats and if so, the price to the institution and to the general public;
- the separate prices of textbooks unbundled from supplemental material; and
- to the maximum extent possible, the same information for custom textbooks.
- To the maximum extent practicable, an institution must include on its Internet course schedule for required and recommended textbooks and supplemental material
- the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and retail price;
- if the ISBN is not available, the author, title, publisher, and copyright date; or
- if such disclosure is not practicable, the designation “To Be Determined.”
- If applicable, the institution must include on its written course schedule a reference to the textbook information available on its Internet schedule and the Internet address for that schedule.
- A postsecondary institution must provide the following information to its college bookstores upon request by such college bookstore:
- the institution’s course schedule for the subsequent academic period; and
- for each course or class offered, the information it must include on its Internet course schedule for required and recommended textbooks and supplemental material, the number of students enrolled, and the maximum student enrollment.
- Institutions disclosing the information they must include on their Internet course schedules for required and recommended textbooks and supplemental material are encouraged to provide information on
- renting textbooks;
- purchasing used textbooks;
- textbook buy-back programs; and
- alternative content delivery programs.
The HEOA also requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the implementation of this section and report to Congress (See Non-institutional Studies, Reports, and Summits, U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Studies and Reports, Textbook Information)
The Secretary is prohibited from regulating on this section of the HEA, but will monitor institutions and review student complaints relating to these provisions.
The next time your bookstore sends around an email hounding you for your textbook order...just remember, its the law...
UPDATE: Ha! I wrote that post before noticing Al Brophy's post below, referencing Judith Wegner's post here.
Greg,
The US Department of Education released additional non-regulatory guidance regarding the textbook provisions for institutions back in June, 2010: www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN1009FinalTextbookGuidance.html
There was one error in the document as the law does not require schools to post online class attendance numbers. ED is supposed to correct this at some point.
Another thing to point out about the earlier guidance document you include above. The document forgot to include a provision in the law requiring textbook publishers to offer their textbooks and supplemental materials unbundled, unless they are part of an integrated textbook. This means, to an extent, publishers should be providing more options for you and your students between bundles and adopting and purchasing materials ala carte.
Posted by: Rich Hershman | October 29, 2010 at 01:19 PM