Textbooks and Instructional Materials

Policy

Ferris State University is committed to minimizing the total costs of higher education for students. Integral to cost containment is careful selection of instructional materials, including textbooks. Faculty and program personnel are expected to give careful consideration to the texts and other materials required to assure that students are able to gain the maximum benefit for the lowest possible costs. Text and instructional material decisions continue to be academic matters decided by the program’s faculty. The procedures that follow provide guidance on the ways in which the University will monitor this policy.

Context

The federal Higher Education Act (HEOA) requires transparency related to required texts for students. Recent Michigan legislation concerning appropriations for universities specified that “(1) It is the intent of the legislature that each public university shall develop policies for reviewing required textbooks and course materials with the goal of minimizing the cost of textbooks and materials used at the university while maintaining quality of education and academic freedom. These policies, according to Section 262in 2012, require all of the following:

That faculty members submit lists of required textbooks and course materials for university review.
That faculty members consider the least costly practices in assigning textbooks and course materials, such as adopting the least expensive edition of a textbook available when educational content is comparable to a more costly edition.
That the university review any potential financial conflict of interest that may occur if a faculty member requires the purchase of any textbooks or course materials he or she has written.
That the university review required textbooks and course materials to ensure that least costly practices are being utilized, such as adopting the least expensive edition of a textbook available when educational content is comparable to a more costly edition.

By February 1 of each year, each public university shall submit a report to the house and senate appropriates subcommittees on higher education and the house and senate fiscal agencies on the policies developed under this section.”

Thus, the policy and procedures contained within this document are intended to bring Ferris into compliance with new legislative expectations and to codify long -established practices at Ferris.

Instructional Materials Submission Procedure*
FSU has adopted the following procedures to comply with HEOA’s and the Michigan legislature’s requirements and to supply students with the information they need to obtain course materials at the lowest cost possible.

All faculty and other instructors who are teaching courses shall register their required and recommended instructional materials on the university bookstore website by providing the title, author, edition, ISBN, and price–information that HEOA requires to be disclosed to students. Instructors who use no required or recommended textbooks or other materials in a course must still provide information on this website to indicate that no course materials are being required. Required and optional textbook and other course material information (e.g., course packs) will be registered at the following university bookstore link: ferris.bncollege.com. “Click” on the faculty tab at the top of the web page and enter course material information. In the case of cross-listed courses, course material information must be provided for each subject area code and course number.
The university bookstore website will retain the HEOA-required information submitted by faculty.
A corresponding link to the university bookstore website will appear on the listing for each course on the university’s online course schedule. By following the link to the university bookstore website, students interested in the course will gain access to the information.
In keeping with the objective of enabling students to find the best price for course materials among multiple vendors, faculty and staff should not tell students where they must purchase or rent required or recommended instructional materials.
The HEOA-required information will be most useful to students if they have access to it early in their own course-selection and materials procurement efforts. Thus, to provide timely information, the University has established due dates for instructors to submit book registrations. They are as follows:
1. Fall Semester: on or before April 1st
2. Spring Semester: on or before October 15th
3. Summer Semester: on or before March 1st

Departments should strive to meet these deadlines. However, it is understood that it may not be possible in all cases to assign instructors such that all course sections will be in place for a given term by the deadlines listed here. Nevertheless, departments should post the information to the university bookstore website in a timely fashion once instructors are assigned to particular course sections and course materials have been chosen.

Department representatives , such as department heads, department chairs, and program coordinators (DR), working with college-level personnel, such as deans and associate deans, will review required course and program materials annually to monitor the University’s efforts to contain student costs. If a department representative observes choices that raise questions, the representative will discuss the recommendations with the involved faculty or program representative(s).
Each faculty member who requires any textbook or supply for which the faculty member may benefit through copyright holdings, royalties, or other forms of compensation or rewards must provide this information directly to the department representative with a copy to the dean of the college, with the components noted below. Notification must be provided in electronic form to the department representative, through a scanned message, an e-mail, or an attached Word document. The faculty member must specify the name of the text or material; the author(s)/creator(s); the publication date, if applicable; the cost of the resource to the student; the amount that the faculty member will receive from the supplier from the sale of each text or supply; and rationale for why this is the best choice for the course. This notification must be provided to the department representative and the Dean prior to placing this requirement on book or supply lists to be acquired for specific courses. A sample form for this notification is appended.
The department representative or the Dean will have at least five (5) business days to provide feedback to the faculty member concerning the text or material notification. If there is no follow-up from the department representative or the dean, the selection of this resource will be considered approved.
Within each college, a list of required materials that are associated with a faculty member’s benefiting financially must be maintained for at least a three-year period, so that the materials could be produced within 24 hours in response to a request for this information.
The Bookstore manager will advise College personnel if they identify areas where they believe follow-up may be appropriate.

*Adapted from policies and procedures at Wayne State University.

Policy approved by President’s Council Fall 2013 following reviews by Deans’ Council, Administration and Finance (Bookstore), and Open Comment period facilitated by General Counsel’s office.

Issue Date: 10/01/2013 Revision Date: NA

Textbooks and Instructional Materials Policy 13:1

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Phone: (231) 591-2300 | Fax: (231) 591-3592 | www.ferris.edu