Textbook Adoption: 4.02

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES

Title: TEXTBOOK ADOPTION Identification: 4.02
Effective Date: 1/31/20
Authority:
SBE 6A-14.092
FS 1001.64; 1001.65; 1004.085		 Signature/Approval: Dr. Ken Atwater

PURPOSE

This procedure establishes direction for the adoption of textbooks, educational materials, and supplies for credit courses. Procedures for textbook selection are set forth in the Agreement between the District Board of Trustees of Hillsborough Community College and the Faculty United Service Association (FUSA Contract). For in-house publication of materials to be sold in the bookstores, refer to the administrative procedure, In-House Publication of Instructional Materials.

PROCEDURE

  1. TEXTBOOK ADOPTION
    1. HCC shall select textbooks and instructional materials no later than seventy-five (75) days prior to the first day of classes for 95% of sections. The textbook and instructional material selections shall be shared with the HCC Bookstore.
    2. If a course is added after the seventy-five (75) day deadline, textbooks for such courses shall be adopted as soon as is feasible to ensure sufficient lead time.
    3. HCC shall post information about textbook and instructional materials on the HCC website at least 45 days before the first day of class for each term for at least 95 percent of all courses and course sections offered at HCC for the upcoming term. The information must include the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for each textbook and instructional material. Other identifying information must include the title, all authors listed, publishers, edition number, copyright date, published date, price, and other relevant information necessary to identify the specific textbooks or instructional materials required and recommended for each course.
    4. In January/February of each year, the Bookstores Manager will send the Textbook Adoption Request Notice to the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA) or his designee. The Bookstores Manager will give the deadlines when the textbooks requisitions are due for each term. However, because new courses may be offered for the first time in the spring or summer terms, the Textbook Adoption Request forms may be submitted at other times during the year. Textbook adoptions must be made with sufficient lead time (seventy-five (75) days at a minimum) to bookstores to allow them to confirm availability of the requested materials and where possible ensure maximum availability of used books.
    5. The VPAA will establish the deadline dates for additions and modifications, in concert with the deadline dates for textbook requisitions established by the Bookstores Manager.
    6. Discipline Group Textbook Committees are convened according to the textbook selection procedures set forth in the FUSA Contract. These committees (or designees as specified by the FUSA Contract) must select textbooks and instructional materials through cost-benefit analyses that enable students to obtain the highest-quality product at the lowest available price by considering the following:
      1. Confirming the intent to use all items ordered (particularly each individual item sold as part of a bundled package) before adoption is finalized. Note that in many cases, an ISBN represents a single product that includes alternate versions of the selected text; i.e., the print version and the e-text version with its digital ancilliaries. In these cases, the product has been selected based on the provision that one of the versions is included at no additional cost by the publisher. Students have access to both versions but will choose which version they will use.
      2. Determining the extent to which a new edition differs from earlier versions and the value to the student of changing to the new edition versus an open-access version.
      3. Expanding the use of open-access textbooks and instructional materials.
      4. Making textbooks and instructional materials available when feasible to students otherwise unable to afford the cost.
      5. Determining 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 two (2) years.
      6. Considering course wide adoption, specifically for high enrollment general education courses.
    7. The committee should recommend common learning materials for both face-to-face and distance learning formats, and rationale must be provided if the learning materials are different. The selected learning materials must incorporate the basic principles of the course. The committee’s recommendation(s) will be adopted as the requirements for all sections of the same course taught college wide. Exceptions are identified in the FUSA Contract; additionally, full-time faculty may be allowed to use free materials instead of the required learning materials with the approval of the VPAA or designee.
    8. Members of the faculty committee will submit their Textbook Adoption Request forms to the appropriate division chair for review and approval. The VPAA or designee and the ADA compliance officer may be asked to review the adopted materials as needed for final approval. The form will contain all of the information as required in sections 1.C. and 1.F. above.
    9. The division chairs or his/her designees will submit the Textbook Adoption Request form by the deadline date. In the event textbook requests are not received, the Bookstores Manager will promptly inform the VPAA or designee.
      Any change in a textbook order will be forwarded to the VPAA or designee for review and approval. Any charges incurred due to modifications in a textbook order will be charged to the appropriate campus budget.
      The VPAA will distribute textbook recommendations to the deans’ offices.
    10. Prior to the beginning of a term, the Bookstores Manager will be responsible for consulting the appropriate MIS reports to facilitate the required number of books. In the event a section is oversold, it will be the Bookstores Manager’s responsibility to acquire the appropriate number of books needed.
    11. Faculty members may not sign contracts committing HCC to textbook purchases.
  2. SUPPLEMENTARY AND OPTIONAL BOOKS
    The FUSA Contract describes the rights of full-time instructors to select supplementary and optional books.
    Members of the faculty will submit their supplementary book lists and optional book lists to the academic dean for review and approval prior to submission to the Bookstores Manager in accordance with the procedural guidelines and deadline dates for required texts. (Refer to Section 1 above.)
    Optional and supplemental books will be stocked at the discretion of the Bookstores Manager and with notice to the VPAA or designee, using available space and historical data as a basis for ordering.
  3. SPECIAL APPROVED TEXTS AND PILOT PROJECTS
    1. Special Approved Texts: The FUSA Contract describes the rights of full-time instructors with regard to special approved texts.
    2. Pilot Projects: In the interests of academic innovation, student success, or cost reduction, faculty may propose a pilot study to adopt and assess novel learning materials in place of a committee adoption. The faculty member must submit a proposal to the division chair if the pilot is to replace a textbook adopted by the discipline group committee. The timeline of the pilot will be determined based on the timeframe of the current adoption. If the pilot is to replace a college-wide adoption, the proposal must be sent to the VPAA or designee, and the pilot cannot run until the second year of the college-wide adoption. The proposal must include a rationale justifying the pilot adoption, a timeline from implementation to completion of the pilot adoption, a description of which faculty and campuses/HCC locations will be involved in the pilot, and a description of how the results of the pilot will be evaluated and shared.
  4. DESK COPIES Administration shall provide each faculty member with a complimentary copy of the textbook(s) selected for a course. The faculty member may keep the textbook(s) or return it (them) to his/her immediate supervisor.
    Part-time faculty will receive desk copies from their immediate supervisor or administrator at the campus where their course(s) is taught. Part-time faculty members must return desk copies to their immediate supervisor at the completion of the semester.
  5. REQUIRED MATERIALS
    A list of required supplies and/or materials for specific courses will be submitted in accordance with the same deadline(s) as those established for textbooks.
  6. FACULTY TEXTBOOKS Textbooks authored by faculty members will not be used as a required textbook, unless recommended by the appropriate faculty committee as the required text and approved by the VPAA or designee in accordance with Section 1 above. In addition, textbooks authored by faculty members will not be used as an optional or supplementary textbook unless approved by the VPAA or designee.

    History

    Adopted: 7/10/01.