Textbook Affordability Committee: FAU

Textbook Costs Background Materials

Context:

 

Across the country, students have been strongly impacted by the rising costs of textbooks and other required materials for their courses. Numerous studies at the national, state, and individual institutional level document that a significant percentage of students forego purchasing course materials because of cost and that this adversely affects both their academic success in those courses as well as their overall graduation rates. Many state legislatures and institutions of higher education have adopted mandates to reduce the costs of course materials.
Within the state of Florida, HB 7019 requires each FCS institution and state university to make lists of required and recommended texts at least 45 days before the first day of class for each term. It also requires a variety of reports documenting the costs of course materials and efforts to reduce those costs. Additionally, within the State University System of Florida, the Board of Governors has implemented a Performance-Based Funding Model that determines the funding allocated to each university based on their Excellence or Improvement for each metric. PBF Metric 3 deals with the Average Cost to the Student (Net Tuition per 120 Credit Hours).

At FAU, textbook affordability is being addressed by two committees. The Textbook Adoption Compliance Committee is focused on meeting the requirements of HB7019. The Textbook Affordability Committee is focused on improving the university’s performance.

Charge:

Reporting to the Vice Provost, the Textbook Affordability Committee is charged to:

 

  • Work closely with the Textbook Adoption Compliance Committee

  • Develop materials to inform faculty, students, and administrators about the issues

  • Identify options for reducing the cost of textbooks for students

  • Present proposals to the Vice Provost and others for review

  • Establish working groups across the university to focus on specific options

  • Implement approved options to reduce costs of course materials to students

  • Gather data documenting efforts and results

  • Develop student satisfaction tracking to quantify key issues, measure trends over time and establish benchmarks that a new solution can be compared to

  • Report to the Vice Provost each semester and share information about the Committee’s activities on an open web site

  • Work to improve performance on BOG Metric 3 Cost of Education to the Student

As needed, Working Groups will be established to focus on specific projects that will facilitate rapid implementation of programs to reduce costs to students. 

Membership


Dean of University Libraries, Chair

Representatives from the following:

  • Each College

  • Financial Affairs

  • Enrollment Management

  • Center for eLearning

  • Chair of the Textbook Adoption Compliance Committee

  • Graduate and Undergraduate Student Bodies

Representatives from the Campus Bookstore and other groups will be brought in to specific discussions, as needed.



2017-2018 Members

  • Carol Hixson, Dean of University Libraries, Chair
  • Victoria Brown, Assistant Provost for elearning
  • Geoffrey Johnson, Provost's Office (Liaison to Textbook Adoption Compliance Committee)
  • Paul Peluso, Graduate College
  • Markus Schmidmeier, College of Science
  • James Wetterer, Honors College
  • Lee Soroko, College of Arts and Letters
  • Andac Arikan, College of Business
  • Jesse Saginor, College of Design and Social Inquiry
  • Lisa Finnegan, College of Education
  • George Cai, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Darin Trelka, College of Medicine
  • Nancey France, College of Nursing
  • Elizabeth Kennedy, University Advising Services
  • Kevin Roble, Graduate Student (Educational Leadership)
  • Sibel Bode, Undergraduate Student, Jupiter
  • Nancy Bernbaum, Undergraduate Student
  • TBA, Financial Affairs
  • TBA, Enrollment Management