Cost of textbooks & alternative learning resources discussion paper

              Version September 2010
OKLAHOMA STATE REGENTS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
Faculty Advisory Council
Cost of Textbooks & Alternative Learning Resources
Discussion Paper
BACKGROUND
In December 2006, the Chancellor convened a symposium to investigate methods of reducing the burden of textbook costs to students in the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education. The symposium was exploratory and provided a forum for various stakeholders to present ideas and opinions regarding the selection, publication, pricing and distribution of educational materials and resources. The issues discussed included financial aid restrictions on purchasing, editions not always changing substantively, whether one text may apply to more than one course, departmental responsibility in the selection process, long-term professional value of the text, and how students use texts.
In March 2007, the Oklahoma Student Government Association (SGA) passed a resolution for the Council on Student Affairs (COSA) requiring institutions to provide information regarding textbooks 14 days prior to start of class. In May 2008, the Student Advisory Board (SAB) and Faculty Advisory Council (FAC) passed a joint resolution for the State Regents requiring the same information as the SGA and provide at least one copy of each textbook on reserve in the library. In October 2009, SGA passed additional resolutions including that all campuses libraries should have copies of all required texts and that textbooks be available in a digital format and housed on campus network servers. In March 2010, SGA recommended that Oklahoma sales tax be removed from all textbook (and other required reading material) purchases.
In May 2007, the Oklahoma Legislature passed H.B. 2103 (see relevant sections attached) to reduce textbook costs by having governing boards adopt policies for bookstores, faculty and staff; work with bookstores, publishers, students and faculty; and restrict what employees and bookstores may receive from publishers. The legislation went into effect as of November 2007.
In July 2008, Congress completed reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) by passing the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) Effective July 1, 2010, institutions will be required to disclose in their course schedules, “to the maximum extent practicable,” the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) of every required and recommended textbook and supplemental materials and retail price information. Lacking accurate information about the ISBN number at the time the course schedules are set, the institution is permitted to indicate that this information is “to be determined.” Publishers are required to provide faculty with information on price, copyright dates of the three previous editions, any substantial revisions between a new edition and prior iterations, whether the textbook is available in any other format and at what price and to supply textbooks in bundled and unbundled formats.
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