Textbook and Other Educational Material Guidelines

Guidelines Regarding the Selecting, Authoring, and Publication of Textbooks and Other Educational Material

Updated version approved by Faculty Senate on Oct. 9, 2020.

The selecting, authoring, and publication of textbooks and other educational materials is the responsibility of each individual instructor, subject to the guidelines set forth here. These Guidelines are in compliance with NSHE BOR Handbook Title 4, Chapter 14, Section 27, “NSHE Policy on Printed and Electronic Instructional Materials”. (dated B/R 9/16)

Selecting of Textbooks and Other Educational Material

  1. The selection of textbooks and other instructional materials is the responsibility of faculty. (BOR 4.14.27)
  2. Faculty should exercise their expertise and professional judgment when selecting instructional materials, and carefully consider the academic, professional, and ethical implications of criteria used in selections. (BOR 4.14.27)
  3. All instructional materials should contain current, relevant information for the course, as well as appropriate assignments and supplementary material when applicable. These materials should help faculty and students accomplish the educational objectives of a course and should only be required when necessary and highly utilized. (BOR 4.14.27)
  4. Textbook determinations are to be made by the appropriate department or teaching faculty within the discipline. When appropriate and if practicable, departments and disciplines may seek to adopt uniform learning materials for the same course.
  5. Each department is responsible for determining whether part-time instructors may choose their own textbooks and other instructional materials.
    1. If a part-time instructor is not permitted or otherwise does not choose textbooks and other instructional materials, the relevant department shall choose and ensure that such materials are made available and used by the part-time instructor.
    2. Part-time faculty are encouraged to direct feedback on textbook selection and learning materials to the appropriate department chair or director.
  6. It shall be the responsibility of the Department Chair or (if Chair is unavailable or unable) Dean to select the textbook for any classes where the book order deadline is not met.
    1. The only exception to this shall be when classes are added after the textbook selection deadline.
    2. Textbook selections should not be changed after the textbook selection deadline unless the instructor changes and the new instructor requires the change.
  7. Cost should be considered when selecting instructional materials. (BOR 4.14.27)
    1. This shall be done without compromising academic standards or academic freedom, instructors and departments, when selecting textbooks and other instructional materials.
    2. As progress is made in reducing course material costs, faculty and/or departments are encouraged to track and share such progress.
  8. Where appropriate, each institution shall encourage faculty to select or develop electronic and free or low-cost options for instructional materials. (BOR 4.14.27). These may include, but are not limited to:
    1. Open Educational Resources (OER)
    2. Open-Source textbooks
  9. The TMCC Bookstore will include the student price of materials when distributing the textbook adoption form for completion, including the student price of material not previously used. If adoptions contain ancillary material, the bookstore will confirm with departments and divisions that the material is in fact required and necessary, and if not, will give to the department the information on how unbundling the packages will impact pricing to the student.
  10. As a best practice, a copy of books assigned in classes should be placed on reserve in the Library for students to use, in coordination with the Library.
  11. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, TMCC Policy #2322, TMCC is required to provide access to instructional materials in alternative formats for individuals with disabilities. The Disability Resource Center can assist faculty in selecting and producing materials which provide equal access for students with disabilities.
    1. "Accessible" means an individual with a disability is afforded the opportunity to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and use the same services as a person without a disability in an equally effective and integrated manner. A person with a disability should be able to obtain the information as fully, equally, and independently as a person without a disability.
  12. An instructor shall not seek or accept any gift, service, favor, employment or engagement, emolument or economic opportunity which would influence the selection of a textbook or other instructional material.
  13. The work of this Textbook Task Force shall be continued through as-needed meetings supported by the Faculty Senate and Vice President for Academic Affairs. This Task Force shall be chaired by a faculty member and include minimally the following members: four faculty members recommended by the Faculty Senate, two students recommended by Student Government Association, TMCC Bookstore Manager, Disability Resource Center representative, Classified representative, and the Library Director. The Vice President shall be ex-officio and provide administrative support for the work of this Task Force.

Authoring and Publication of Textbooks and Other Educational Material

Approved by Faculty Senate March 13, 2020

  1. The authoring and publication of textbooks and other educational material by faculty at TMCC should be encouraged and celebrated. Working on publications is an opportunity for professional development and staying relevant within one’s academic field. Having faculty that author academic material gives TMCC national and international exposure.
  2. Faculty are afforded the right to outside compensation for textbooks and other educational material that they produce, per the NSHE Handbook, Title 4, Chapter 3, section 9, “Outside professional or scholarly service by faculty members within their subject matter field and for compensation is recognized as a legitimate activity unless specifically prohibited by the employee’s contract with the institution.”
  3. Textbooks and other educational material authored or produced by TMCC faculty should be properly copyrighted.
  4. Works which are educational materials, such as lab manuals, workbooks, or collections of written works required for classes at TMCC should be reviewed and approved by the department. Formal textbooks authored or produced by TMCC faculty and required for TMCC classes should go through a process of external peer review either by the publisher or by two external reviewers currently teaching in the field. Peer review relies upon a community of experts in a given field who are qualified and able to perform reasonably impartial review.
  5. Self-published textbooks and other educational materials produced by an instructor that yield compensation for the instructor and are required for a class section the instructor teaches, or for other classes in the department, shall be reviewed and approved by the department and the Dean of the department.
  6. An apparent conflict of interest may be present when faculty produce textbooks and other educational materials that yield compensation for the instructor and are required for a class section the instructor teaches, or for other classes in the department. In such a circumstance, the instructor and the department must act as follows:
    1. The instructor must inform the department chair and the appropriate dean prior to submitting book orders.
    2. The department must convene a group of departmental faculty to review and approve the textbook and other educational materials.
    3. The review should include such things as having a reputable publisher (an academic or trade publisher that has an established method of distribution either directly to the student or through the bookstore ordering system), the currency and accuracy of information, the cost to students, alternative textbooks available, etc., to ensure the textbooks or other educational materials are beneficial to the students.
    4. The instructor must put an appropriate number of copies of the textbook or other educational materials on reserve in the library for students to use.
    5. The instructor shall not make sales directly to students.