III - 10.00 - POLICY ON TEXTBOOK AFFORDABILITY MEASURES

(Approved by the Board of Regents February 13, 2009)

I.  Purpose

The University System of Maryland Board of Regents recognizes that the rising 
cost of textbooks must be addressed in order to maintain access and affordability 
for USM students.  Therefore each degree-granting institution shall implement 
the measures outlined in the following policy.

II. Policy

	1. All
	University System of Maryland degree-granting institutions shall post on
	the institutional website ISBN, title, author, publisher, and edition for
	required course material as soon as faculty members and the bookstore have
	finalized the textbook selection but no later than May 1 for the fall
	semester and December 1 for the spring semester.  In the case that 
	a course has not been assigned a faculty member by the given deadline, 
	textbook selection shall be conducted and communicated to enrolled 
	students expeditiously upon selection of the materials.

	2. Institutional
	bookstores shall provide faculty members who are placing book orders with
	current information about the retail price of selected course materials.
	
	3. Faculty
	teaching the same course for multiple semesters are encouraged to use the
	same textbooks and course materials for multiple semesters to the extent
	practicable and educationally sound.
	
	4. Faculty
	should be encouraged to order new editions of textbooks only if necessary
	and if older editions are not of comparable educational content.  
	Faculty should list information pertinent to previous editions which 
	are of acceptable use, as described in Section 1.
	
	5. Institutions
	shall make faculty aware of the option to request unbundled versions of
	textbook and course materials and of the price differential.
	
	6. Faculty
	should order textbook bundles only if the supplements included with
	textbooks are necessary to the curriculum and instruction.
	
	7. In the
	case that a faculty member assigns bundled materials, the bookstore shall
	make available both bundled and unbundled versions of the materials for
	purchase.  Institutions and
	bookstores shall clarify on the bookstore website that in the case of the
	assignment of bundled materials, students should purchase either the
	bundled package or all required portions of the bundle individually.
	
	8. Faculty
	should permit students to purchase electronic versions of textbooks when
	available.
	
	9. Faculty
	members should incorporate into course instruction the use of online
	resources wherever feasible and prudent.
	
	10. Institutions
	shall seek ways to lessen the financial hardship of college textbook
	purchases, such as targeted scholarship and financial aid funds,
	consideration of textbook rentals for introductory courses, consideration
	of placing selected course materials on reserve in campus libraries when
	practicable, and development of customized course materials.

III. Implementation

        This policy shall be effective beginning with the course materials assigned for 
        the Fall 2009 semester. 

        Institutions shall include in course evaluations, questions concerning the use 
        and value of assigned textbooks and other course materials. 

        Institutions should make faculty aware of the provisions in this policy each 
        semester. 

The Council of University System Presidents (CUSP), the Academic Affairs Advisory 
Council (AAAC), the University System of Maryland Student Council(USMSC), and the 
Council of University System Faculty (CUSF) shall work together to provide to the 
Chancellor periodic reports on the impact and effectiveness of this policy.