Course Textbook AdoptionOrdering and Compliance

Evolution of “The System”

• Then– Orders were placed with Bill’s by office– Orders were placed with FSU Bookstore by office– Books were listed on Department website,

“publishing” our reading lists by office

• Now– Orders are placed with Bill’s by Professors– Orders are placed with Course Textbook Adoption

Tool through BlackBoard, ensuring compliance by office

– FSU Bookstore is automatically notified via system

Benefits of the “New System”

• Students are able to see, when they register, what books are being used– This system places the information in the

student’s hand WELL IN ADVANCE.

• This will also usher in less “drop/add” based on book selection

Compliance to what?!

• Higher Education Opportunity Act (2008), Section 112

• Florida Statutes (2008), 1004.085

• Florida Board of Governors Regulations, 8.003

Higher Education Opportunity Act (2008), Section 112

• The purpose of this section is to ensure that students have access to affordable course materials by decreasing costs to students and enhancing transparency and disclosure with respect to the selection, purchase, sale, and use of course materials. It is the intent of this section to encourage all of the involved parties, including faculty, students, administrators, institutions of higher education, bookstores, distributors, and publishers, to work together to identify ways to decrease the cost of college textbooks and supplemental materials for students while supporting the academic freedom of faculty members to select high quality course materials for students.

Florida Statutes (2008), 1004.085

• Community colleges 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.

Florida Board of Governors Regulations, 8.003

• 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.

Consequences?

• “The federal act does not specify a penalty.  When one is not in compliance with federal requirements, however, an institution is positioned to be denied its federal funding, e.g., student aid made available under Title IV.   On the local level, one may be assured that there would be measurable consequences should--to cite only one example--our Pell-eligible undergraduates be rendered ineligible due to a unit's decision to test the waters.” – Dr. Joseph McElrath, Associate Vice President for

Academic Affairs

Important Points To Consider

• The entire process is established by the Provost’s office; not the College or Department– Compliance must be met at the University

level. Deadlines and procedures are out of our hands

• Graduate course descriptions are due at the same time!

Important Points To Consider

• Instructors are ultimately responsible for getting their orders in on time, and meeting compliance expectations– The Department can only help you become

“compliant” if you provide the information to us in a timely manner

Summer / Fall 2010

• Book orders will need to be in by March 9th – Summer and Fall– Registration opens March 15th

• Sections that are pending funding, instructors that are pending contracts, etc. will be exempt

Honesty Policy

• The College’s and Provost’s office has an “Honesty Policy” in regards to reporting books for compliance– If we know the books, we should be posting

them

• This is much like the standard we expect from our students with Academic Honor Code

Summer / Fall 2010

• Your part– Because our Department is so large, and

these deadlines typically give us about a one week crunch period, the more you can contribute, the quicker the Department can become compliant and continue with other areas of planning

Summer / Fall 2010

• To simplify the process, we are asking you to order your books through Bills. This process takes about 10 minutes (or less!) for a course requiring 10 books

• To begin, simply go to this link

Ordering Through Bill’s – Step 1

• Go to this link

• Fill out the information– Make sure to list your course codes and

estimated enrollment correctly– You do not need to forward the order to

another bookstore, because the new system already does it for you

– Once you submit adoptions, you’ll receive a confirmation email shortly after

Ordering Through Bill’s – Step 2

• Send your confirmation from Bill’s to Andrew Mason at asmason@fsu.edu

• Andrew will then process your books through BlackBoard and monitor the Department’s compliance – unless you are planning to complete the Bb portion on your own.

Desk Copies

• Most publishers now do desk copy requests online. The easiest way to order them is to go to each individual site, and order straight through them

• Again, if you would like the Department to help you in ordering Desk Copies, we are here for you

Conclusions

• Thank you, in advance, for your help and diligence during this transition time

• Remember, the Department’s Support Staff are here to help you if you face a problem or need additional help

• Becoming compliant puts us (and keeps us) in good standing with the College and Provost’s Office