Textbook Affordability and Certification Procedures

In accordance with Florida Statute 1004.085 and Florida Administrative Code 6A-14.092, the following policies are to be observed:

No employee of Palm Beach State College may demand or receive any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, service, or anything of value, present or promised, in exchange for requiring students to purchase a specific textbook for coursework or instruction.

A Palm Beach State College employee may receive:

Sample copies, instructor copies, or instructional materials. These materials may not be sold for any type of compensation if they are specifically marked as free samples not for resale.
Royalties or other compensation from sales of textbooks that include the instructor's own writing or work.
Honoraria for academic peer review of course materials.
Fees associated with activities such as reviewing, critiquing, or preparing support materials for textbooks pursuant to guidelines adopted by the State Board of Education or the Board of Governors.
Training in the use of course materials and learning technologies.

Textbook Adoptions and Posting Information

New textbooks must be adopted no later than seventy-five (75) days prior to the first day of classes to allow sufficient lead time for the bookstore to work with publishers so as to confirm availability of the requested materials and to ensure maximum availability of used books. Where courses are added after this seventy-five (75) day deadline, textbooks for such courses shall be adopted as soon as is feasible to ensure sufficient lead time.

Pursuant to Section 1004.085, F.S., for those classes added after the forty-five (45) day notification deadline, institutions shall post textbook information on their websites immediately as such information becomes available. This shall be accomplished through the faculty/instructor posting of the syllabus online, as required in Board Policy 6Hx-18-2.051.

The textbook information on the syllabus must include the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for each required textbook or other identifying information, which must include, at a minimum, all of the following: the title, all authors listed, publishers, edition number, copyright date, published date, and other relevant information necessary to identify the specific textbook or textbooks required for each course.

Textbook Certification

Faculty/instructors must attest that:

All textbooks and other instructional items ordered will be used, particularly each individual item sold as part of a bundled package.
The extent to which a new edition differs significantly and substantively from earlier versions, and the value of changing to a new edition.

The certification of the above two items is accomplished through a Web-based form. Please see the Web page at https://www.pbsc.edu/academicservices/information-and-reference/academic-affairs-policies-and-documents for information on the Web tool and the reporting requirements.

Statute on Textbook Affordability

Section 1004.085, F.S. Textbook and instructional materials affordability

Adopt textbooks and instructional materials no later than seventy-five (75) days prior to the first day of classes for 95% of sections. No later than seventy-five (75) days prior to the first day of classes, colleges shall share a list of adopted textbooks and instructional materials with bookstores to allow sufficient lead time to bookstores to work with publishers so as to confirm availability of the requested materials and to ensure maximum availability of used books. Where courses are added after this seventy-five (75) day deadline, textbooks for such courses shall be adopted as soon as is feasible to ensure sufficient lead time.

This shall be accomplished through the faculty/instructor posting of the syllabus online, as required in Board Policy 6Hx-18-2.051. The textbook information on the syllabus must include the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for each required textbook or other identifying information, which must include, at a minimum, all of the following: the title, all authors listed, publishers, edition number, copyright date, published date, and other relevant information necessary to identify the specific textbook or textbooks required for each course.

6A-14.092 Textbook Affordability.

Pursuant to Section 1004.085, F.S., institutions within the Florida College System through the Chief Academic Officer or designee(s) shall:

Adopt textbooks and instructional materials no later than seventy-five (75) days prior to the first day of classes for 95% of sections. No later than seventy-five (75) days prior to the first day of classes, colleges shall share a list of adopted textbooks and instructional materials with bookstores to allow sufficient lead time to bookstores to work with publishers so as to confirm availability of the requested materials and to ensure maximum availability of used books. Where courses are added after this seventy-five (75) day deadline, textbooks for such courses shall be adopted as soon as is feasible to ensure sufficient lead time.
Ensure that pursuant to Section 1004.085(6), F.S., for those classes added after the forty-five (45) day notification deadline, institutions shall post textbook information on their websites immediately as such information becomes available.
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, in addition to those items listed in Section 1004.085(7)(g), F.S.:
1. 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 three (3) years.
2. Course-wide adoption, specifically for high enrollment general education courses.
Identify a process to ensure publishers provide a description of the content revisions made between the current edition and a proposed new edition of required textbook and instructional materials.
The board of trustees of each Florida College System institution shall report by September 30 of each year to the Chancellor of the Florida College System, in a format determined by the Chancellor, the following:
1. The textbook and instructional materials selection process for general education courses with a wide cost variance and high-enrollment courses; course sections with no cost shall not be included in the examination of cost variance between different sections of the same course;
2. Specific initiatives of the institution designed to reduce the costs of textbooks and instructional materials;
3. Policies implemented regarding the posting of textbook and instructional materials for at least 95% of all courses and course sections forty-five (45) days before the first day of class;
4. The number of courses and course sections that were not able to meet the textbook and instructional materials posting deadline for the previous academic year.

Rulemaking Authority 1004.085(7) FS. Law Implemented 1004.085 FS. History–New 2-25-09, Amended 10-17-17.

Enacted January 2010; reviewed July 2010; revised July 2013, revised August 2018