Faculty Assembly Resolution 2008-4 on Textbook Cost Analysis

Whereas, for the past two years the Faculty Assembly and individual faculty members have endeavored to provide advice and take sound steps to control the costs of instructional materials needed for undergraduates in general education courses; and

Whereas, General Administration has recently analyzed data on textbook costs on the various campuses, in keeping with recent efforts by General Administration and the Board of Governors to control the rising costs of instructional materials for undergraduates; and

Whereas, this information was recently submitted to the Board of Governors and campuses; and

Whereas, campuses have been advised that they could suffer significant penalties as a result of “poor” performance with regard to “timely” submission of textbook orders by faculty members; and

Whereas, the Faculty Assembly believes that flawed methods appear to have been used by some bookstores and the General Administration to foster compliance with goals for “on time” textbook adoptions as one means of controlling costs;

Now, therefore, be it resolved:

1. The Faculty Assembly reaffirms its belief that faculty colleagues should do their best to keep costs of instructional materials for students at a reasonable level.

2. The Faculty Assembly questions the methodology that has been used to analyze the extent to which faculty members and campuses have responded to General Administration’s call for “on-time” book orders, particularly in light of the fact that the data and data analysis fail to consider the following matters or treat faculty whose courses fall into the following categories as “late” submitters:

(a) newly hired faculty members who are often not yet on-campus at the end of the prior semester;

(b) instructors for courses to be offered in fall semester who may not yet have been identified by the end of the spring semester;

(c) instructors assigned to courses or sections “late” because budget or enrollment issues preclude the finalization of certain teaching assignments until mid-summer,

(d) instructors who use “course packs” prepared by vendors other than campus libraries, library reserve materials, or on-line electronic materials instead of standard textbooks;

3. The Faculty Assembly expresses its strong concern that poorly conceived methodologies of this sort may be used to penalize campuses, deny their eligibility to submit necessary funding requests, or penalize faculty members, and urges General Administration to reconsider this strategy.

4. The Faculty Assembly urges General Administration and campus book stores to work with appropriate administrators (particularly those in leadership positions as deans or department chairs of units responsible for teaching the bulk of undergraduates) to develop effective means for encouraging timely book adoptions as well as other cost-savings measures relating to instructional materials.

5. The Faculty Assembly also stresses that General Administration, the Board of Governors, and campus leaders should remember that effective teaching and quality education depends on discretionary judgments by faculty members regarding course design, content, methodology, and instructional materials. These qualitative considerations should not be compromised by excessive reliance on quantitative benchmarks designed to foster cost savings.

Unanimously adopted, May 3, 2008