Copyrighted Materials

Per Alamo Colleges Policy E.1.7:

College District employees and students shall comply with the provisions of the United States Copyright Law. Subject to certain specific exceptions (i.e., “fair use doctrine”), the owner of a copyright has the exclusive rights to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, perform, or publicly display the copyrighted work, or to authorize such acts by others. Employees and students shall be held accountable for violations of copyright laws. College District employees and students shall comply with “Agreement on Guidelines for Classroom Copying in Not-for-Profit Educational Institutions,” as cited in 17 U.S.C. 107. These guidelines shall be made available through appropriate publications distributed by the College District. Unauthorized duplication, distribution or use of intellectual property, including computer software or sound recordings constitutes copyright infringement, is prohibited by this policy, and is illegal and subject to both civil and criminal penalties.

Copyright Considerations

1. Faculty who wish to use copyrighted print material and sheet music shall follow the Fair Use in Copyright Laws for Education guidelines provided as Exhibit A. The faculty member is responsible for ensuring that all relevant copyright requirements are met for the first and continuing semesters of use of materials.

2. Faculty who are using open source materials instead of or in addition to one of the approved texts should inform the chair, in writing, so text(s) and materials requirements are gathered for all sections.

Cost Considerations

1. In discussions with the publisher about texts being considered, use the estimated enrollment in the course for the text to be selected to identify all possible options, such as

· the best “new book” cost and the buyback amount to determine total cost to the student

· the cost of a customized publication and buyback possibility

· the cost of a bundle, the cost of the items if possible to purchase separately, and buyback possibility

· the availability of the text as a rental (www.rent-a-text.com) or eBook

· the cost of the text as a loose-leaf version (no buyback option)

· the used book cost over the adoption cycle

2. Consumable materials should not be bundled with texts to allow rental or buyback of the text.

Appeals

Disciplines/programs may appeal for exceptions to these recommendations to their appropriate instructional dean/vice president or designee (based on college’s structure). Requests for exceptions should be provided by email by the chair.

Ordering

a. All textbooks required for sections must be provided by the college department chair to the Dean/VPAA who will approve and forward to the Alamo Colleges’ bookstore by the following deadlines:

1. Spring textbook orders – October 15
2. Summer textbook orders – March 15
3. Fall textbook orders – April 15

Department and college timelines will be established to meet the bookstore deadlines.

b. An order will be completed for each text or other instructional material item and must contain the following:

1. Author and any and all co-authors
2. Complete Title
3. Publisher
4. ISBN
5. CRNs and enrollment projections
6. Department Chair’s approval
7. Required or recommended material
8. The number of semesters remaining on the adoption
10. The lead and chair will identify the number of sections using the material

Changes

a. If, after an order has been submitted, a change to that order is required (e.g., cancellation of sections or the addition of new sections), the chair shall inform the bookstore and copy the Dean/VPAA. After registration begins, the obligation for keeping track of such information becomes the responsibility of the bookstore, except in the case of complete section cancellation, which shall be communicated to the bookstore by the chair as soon as possible.

b. The bookstore will inform the chair of all problems associated with orders as soon as those problems are known to the bookstore. This includes delayed orders, late orders, and out-of-print materials, change of publishers, changes in editions, and other factors which directly affect the availability of texts and other materials to students.

Information provided to students

a. The textbook and other instructional materials will be included on the bookstore list. This ensures that text information will be available to the student through the online information provided by the bookstore.

b. As required by TAC §4.218, students will be emailed by Alamo Colleges’ Instructional Technologies department, at the official Alamo Colleges’ email address, a notice that states

“A student of this institution is not under any obligation to purchase a textbook from a college-affiliated bookstore. The same textbook may also be available from an independent retailer, including an online retailer.”

c. Students should be informed by faculty and other sources that required materials should be obtained in a timely manner; i.e., well before the first assignments are due.

d. Faculty members may include on the course syllabus the information required by TAC §4.218.

Definitions

a. Custom Textbook: textbook compiled by a publisher at the direction of the discipline/department textbook lead in charge of textbook adoptions that may include items such as selections from original instructor materials, previously copyrighted publisher materials, copyrighted third–party works, or elements unique to a specific college. A custom textbook must be adopted for a minimum three-year period.

b. Textbook: a book published primarily for instruction in connection with a particular course or courses and includes any edition of a textbook or set of textbooks and any item considered supplemental specifically to the textbook, regardless of whether the textbook and supplemental items are sold together or separately.

c. Textbook Adoption Lead: a faculty member selected by the department/discipline for each course and responsible for following the textbook adoption guidelines and providing the chair with all required materials by defined dates. Chairs are responsible for textbook selection for all disciplines within the department.

d. Textbook Bundle: textbook combined with other instructional material, such as another text or additional printed material, a computer disk, website access, or electronically distributed material, and is packaged or otherwise offered for sale with that instructional material at a single price. The term does not include a textbook that is combined with other instructional material if that material in its entirety is:

1. Required to be offered for sale with or as part of the textbook, according to a third-party contractual agreement; or

2. Interrelated with the content of the textbook to such a degree that any separation of the material from the textbook would render the textbook unusable for its intended purpose.

Textbook bundles must be approved by the appropriate dean/vice president as well as the chair.

e. Multiple Term Adoptions: Where books will be used for more than one semester there are two cost-savings program suffered by the campus bookstore that could be applied.

1. Guaranteed Buyback: If a non-consumable book is listed with multiple terms, the student can be guaranteed when they purchase the book, that the book will be purchased for ½ of the purchase price at the end of the semester (subject to condition for resale).

2. Local Rental Titles: If a non-consumable book is listed for four terms (like size, like enrollment) the title can be listed on the rental program, even if it is a custom title or otherwise not on the national list of titles for a 55% discount from the new book price.

Texas Legislative textbook requirements

The Alamo Colleges’ textbook adoption guidelines comply with the requirements of Texas Education Code, Chapter 51, Subchapter I.