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POLICY 03:03:00

SELECTION OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

 

  1. Faculty members and the leadership in each academic department share the responsibility for choosing textbooks and other required instructional materials such as study guides, laboratory manuals, computer software, videos, and computer-assisted instruction modules. The department may elect to use different or additional materials to meet the needs of distance education students. Factors such as reading level, content and presentation consistent with academic goals, delivery mode, writing quality, accessibility and price will be considered when reaching a consensus.To minimize changes, texts and other instructional materials should be used at least two years. Advances in technology, new editions by the publisher, or other unforeseen circumstances may necessitate more frequent changes. When changing textbooks, the academic leadership will follow procedures and observe dates established by the bookstore.Faculty members shall consider practices that reduce the cost of course materials, such as utilizing Open Educational Resources (OER) or lower-cost electronic formats (e-texts). Bundled materials should only be considered if they deliver cost savings to the students. (Note: “bundled” means a group of objects joined together by packaging or required to be purchased as an indivisible unit.) If possible, the Campus Bookstore will provide students the option of purchasing the textbooks and other study products separately from each other. When possible, copies of textbooks should be available for student use at no cost through the library via course reserves at the appropriate campus(es). The Campus Bookstore will actively promote and publicize book buy-back programs.

    Accessibility of all course content, including (but not limited to) books, computer software, websites, instruction manuals, videos, study guides, laboratory manuals, and computer-assisted instruction modules must be ensured when adopting textbooks and other course materials. Faculty responsible for textbook adoption will request that sales representatives and publishers provide accessible alternate formats of their textbooks, if available, prior to agreeing to purchase the books. If alternate formats are unavailable, hard copies of textbooks will be provided by the academic department to Disability Services in a timely manner when requested for alternate format development.

  2. Faculty members will submit lists of required textbooks and course materials to the Campus Bookstore in a timely manner so the bookstore can ensure that all course-related materials are available when courses begin. Orders for fall semester classes are due the preceding March; orders for spring and summer semesters are due in October of the preceding calendar year.
  3. Texts and other instructional materials authored by Pellissippi State employees may be considered for adoption provided the materials meet all standards determined by the department. Requests for review of faculty-created materials should be made to the chief academic officer of the College. A committee of at least three faculty reviewers serving in the same department as the writer/creator will be selected to evaluate the materials. In addition, such materials will be reviewed by at least one nonPellissippi State affiliated professional in the field before adoption unless they have been reviewed by a major publishing company. Pellissippi State authors will follow guidelines set forth in the copyright laws of the United States and Pellissippi State Policy 03:16:00, Intellectual Property. Information about copyright law, including Title 17 of the U.S. Code, is available from the United States Copyright Office at http://copyright.gov./.Instructional materials authored by Pellissippi State employees may be piloted prior to official adoption by Pellissippi State. For a pilot, the process described above must be followed with the exception of the external review. In addition, the following conditions must be met prior to departmental evaluation of instructional materials: (1) all materials proposed for use must be in completed form and made available for review and (2) documentation of the publisher’s commitment to bear all expenses associated with the pilot must be provided.If the department determines that the materials meet departmental standards, the academic dean will make a recommendation to the chief academic officer regarding (1) the duration of the pilot period, (2) the process followed to ensure equity in all course sections with respect to instructional quality, and (3) the number of sections in which the materials will be used. The chief academic officer will make a recommendation to the president who will make the final decision on whether the pilot will be allowed. Requests to pilot instructional materials should be made to the chief academic officer by the fifth week of the semester preceding the proposed pilot, not including summer semester.

 

Approved: Executive Council, March 4, 1991
Editorial Changes, October 27, 1992
Reviewed/Recommended: President’s Council, November 20, 1995
Approved: President Allen G. Edwards, November 20, 1995
Approved: President Allen G. Edwards, August 6, 2001
Approved: President Allen G. Edwards, June 2, 2003
Approved: President Allen G. Edwards, January 15, 2004
Reviewed/Recommended: President’s Staff, April 28, 2008
Approved: President Allen G. Edwards, April 28, 2008
Editorial Changes, July 2008, July 1, 2009
Editorial Changes, August 9, 2013
Reviewed/Recommended, President’s Council, March 31, 2014
Approved: President L. Anthony Wise, Jr., March 31, 2014
Reviewed/Recommended: President’s Council, August 10, 2020
Approved: President L. Anthony Wise, Jr., August 10, 2020