(A) Policy statement. Youngstown state
university ("university") is committed to providing affordable high quality
educational access for students. Affordable high quality educational access
includes minimizing the cost of textbooks and instructional materials while
correspondingly ensuring instructional quality and the academic freedom of
faculty to select textbooks and instructional materials.
(B) Purpose. To comply with section
3345.025
of the Revised Code,
the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 1965,
as amended, and House Bill 110 to assist students
in the timely procurement of materials, and to ensure instructional
quality.
(C) Parameters.
(1) Textbook and course materials selection.
(a) A faculty member may select the
textbook(s) and instructional materials to be used in his/her courses unless
the faculty member teaches a multi-section or sequential course; in which case,
the department faculty who are involved in teaching the course(s) shall provide
for textbook selection. In multiple sections of sequential courses that are
also prerequisites to advanced courses in the sequence, uniform texts will be
selected.
(b) Faculty members shall
provide written notification regarding textbook and course material selection
to the department chair no later than seven calendar days prior to the date
established on the university calendar of operations as the textbook order due
date. This date shall be on or before the first day of
class registration for the term.
(c) A faculty member's failure to provide
textbook information pursuant to this policy shall result in a default to the
same textbook (including
the same edition) and course materials previously utilized by the faculty
member in that course, if available; or if not available, equivalent textbook
and/or course material to be used for the upcoming academic term shall be
selected in consultation with the faculty member.
(2) Cost.
(a) Cost should be an important consideration
when selecting textbooks and other course materials that students are required
to purchase. Faculty should consider whether the cost of their adopted
textbooks and other materials is suitable for their discipline and the course
subject. When textbooks and other materials are markedly different in cost, but
are comparable in content and quality, the university recommends that faculty
select the less costly option.
(b)
The university recommends that faculty select open educational resources when they are appropriate for
the faculty members' discipline and course content. Faculty need to notify the bookstore of open education
resources on or before the first day of class registration for the term. Open
educational resources are freely accessible, openly licensed text, media and
digital assets, which include but are not limited to college textbooks and
online supplements.
(3) Faculty recognize that self-authored
materials shall be used pursuant to university policy, rule
3356-7-01
of the Administrative Code, "Conflicts of interest and conflicts of
commitment."
