Higher Education Act HEA and College Course Materials

1
Higher Education Act (HEA) and College Course
Materials

• Approximately every six years, the Congress
  renews HEA, exploring ways to improve the law.
• Changes in federal financial aid policy impacting
  course materials are possible.
• Empowering consumers through sunshine and
  transparency in college costs information
  -including course materials.

2
H.R. 3512 College Textbook Affordability Act of
2007

• Bill H.R 3512 Introduced by Congresswoman Carson
  (D-IN) on September 10, 2007. HR 3512 was a
  modified and more flexible version of a bill
  introduced in the U.S. Senate sponsored by
  Senator Durbin (IL) and Coleman (MN) earlier this
  year, but not acted on.
• Most of the language has been incorporated into
  section 110 of the HEA Reauthorization bill
• H.R. 4137 College Opportunity and Affordability
  Act of 2007

3
H.R. 4137 College Opportunity and Affordability
Act of 2007 section 110
Parts a and b

• The purpose of this section is to ensure that
  every student in higher education is offered
  better and more timely access to affordable
  course materials by educating and informing
  faculty, students, administrators, institutions
  of higher education, bookstores, distributors,
  and publishers on all aspects of the selection,
  purchase, sale, and use of the course materials.
• It is the intent of this section -- to have all
  involved parties work together to identify ways
  to decrease the cost of college textbooks and
  supplemental materials for students while
  protecting the academic freedom of faculty
  members to provide high quality course materials
  for students.

4
H.R. 4137 College Opportunity and Affordability
Act of 2007 section 110

• Publisher Requirements (part c)
• Disclose Wholesale Prices (price they charge
  college bookstores.)
• History of revisions of course materials and
  supplemental materials.
• Options and prices of products/ components.
• Mandate unbundling -ala carte purchase option.

5
H.R. 4137 College Opportunity and Affordability
Act of 2007 section 110

• Institutions Requirements (parts d and e)
• Online course catalogs must include when
  practicable adoption information for each class
  (ISBN and retail price for each textbook and
  supplemental) updated as necessary. If certain
  information is not practicable, then indicate To
  be determined.
• Include the same as above in printed catalog if
  there is not a web version.
• Share course catalog and adoption information
  including ISBN, current and maximum enrollment
  size of class to any college bookstore, upon
  request, as soon as possible and the most
  accurate available.

6
Key Points about HR 4137

• Developing and releasing course lists and course
  material lists are distinctly different processes
  and operate on significantly different timelines.
  
• Integrating the two together will have unintended
  consequences such as eliminating the final stage
  of the adoption process which is critical in
  reducing textbook costs or delaying the
  production and release of course catalogs.
• If a school is mandated to add course material
  lists, it would multiply the size of the catalog
  by several hundred pages.

7
Key Points About HR 4137

• Students should be selecting their courses by
  their educational goals and needs, not on the
  cost of the course materials.
• Mandating ISBN information will increase the
  likelihood in many cases of students buying the
  wrong course materials.
• Mandating the free distribution of course
  material lists to any reseller, conflicts with
  various state laws and regulations governing
  public access and would have the potential of
  institutions of higher education subsidizing
  online businesses that dont collect state sales
  tax or support the campus community.

8
Key Points About HR 4137

• Rep. Miller hopes to get a vote scheduled before
  the Christmas break so that a Senate House
  conference committee will have it in January or
  February.
• This is a very small part of a 747 page bill and
  it will be difficult to change once it is passed
  by the house.
• Colleges may oppose it for the specific technical
  problems it will cause, however, it will have
  some beneficial results if textbook information
  is available at the same time the schedule is
  published.