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Cash­Management Final Rule Published, Textbooks Back on Agenda in FL, OER Hearing in TX, and ED
Launches OER Initiative.
November 02, 2015
ED Cash­Management Final Rule Published
Textbooks Back on the Agenda in FL
OER Hearing in TX
ED Launches OER Initiative
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ED Cash­Management Final Rules
Published
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) released on Oct. 28
its final rules for federal financial aid cash­ management,
including new regulations on books and supplies. NACS had
previously commented on the proposed rules, urging ED to
withdraw the proposal to regulate the inclusion of books
and supplies in tuition and fees from their final rulemaking.
ED dropped its initial proposal for disclosure from the cash­
management rules without explanation and instead
established new regulations detailing three (actually five)
conditions that would allow for inclusion of books and
supplies as part of tuition and fees:
(2) An institution may include the costs of books and
supplies as part of tuition and fees under paragraph (c)(1)(i)
of this section if—
(i) The institution—
(A) Has an arrangement with a book publisher or other
entity that enables it to make those books or supplies
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IN THE NEWS
available to students below competitive market rates;
(B) Provides a way for a student to obtain those books and
supplies by the seventh day of a payment period; and
(C) Has a policy under which the student may opt out of
the way the institution provides for the student to obtain
books and supplies under this paragraph (c)(2). A student
who opts out under this paragraph (c)(2) is considered to
also opt out under paragraph (m)(3) of this section;
(ii) The institution documents on a current basis that the
books or supplies, including digital or electronic course
materials, are not available elsewhere or accessible by
students enrolled in that program from sources other than
those provided or authorized by the institution; or
(iii) The institution demonstrates there is a compelling
health or safety reason.
Stores, especially those at institutions with traditional fee­
based textbook­rental programs, could be affected by these
rules because they regulate how these programs operate by
conditioning the programs based on certain consumer­
protection requirements. ED also adopted the proposal,
without further changes, to the regulations, expanding the
disbursement for books and supplies to include all Title IV
funds.
The rules are effective for the 2016­17 school year. See
this link for further information on the rules, including
meeting materials from the rulemaking sessions, a link to
the full 436­page final regulations, and general information
on the rulemaking process. Members with questions or
concerns about the potential impact on these new
regulations on their campus are encouraged to contact
Richard Hershman at [email protected] or call him at
(202) 778­4598. NACS is conferring with other
associations, including financial aid and business officers,
regarding these regulations and we plan to provide
additional analysis for members.
Textbooks Back on the Agenda in
Florida
On Oct. 20, the Florida House Higher Education and
Workforce Subcommittee considered draft language of a
postsecondary access and affordability bill, including
textbook provisions. A similar piece of legislation passed the
House last session (NACS successfully lobbied for changes
to that bill). The draft language would require institutions to
conduct cost­benefit analyses on various textbook­
affordability measures as well as have them track textbook
costs on a semester basis.
U of Florida Cancels
Huge Pearson
Contract ­ Inside
Higher Ed Oct. 22,
2015
Senate Approves
Two­Year Budget
Deal that Prevents
Default on Debt ­
USA Today Oct. 30,
2015
Pell Grants Will Help
High School
Students Pay for
College Courses ­
The Chronicle of
Higher
Education Oct. 30,
2015
According to Politico, “[Rep. Elizabeth Porter, who chairs the
committee] said the panel hopes to encourage the use of
digital materials without infringing upon the freedom of
professors to choose the best textbooks for their courses.”
During the discussion, there was a strong push by Rep.
Kristin Jacobs (D­96) to require institutions to use digital
texts unless they were unavailable; however, Rep. Julio
Gonzalez (R­74) was equally adamant that students retain
choice over which types of course materials they utilize.
Jacobs then clarified that she wanted to require that
students be offered the choice between print and digital
materials if both were available.
This bill is likely to at least make it to the House floor again
and NACS will continue to closely watch this legislation as it
moves through the legislative process. For more
information, see a video of the hearing, the agenda and
meeting materials (including the draft bill language), and
the full Politico article.
Texas Hearing on Higher Ed
Focuses on OER
During the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
meeting on Oct. 22, a panel was brought in to discuss
college affordability and specifically how open educational
resources (OER) could help address the rising cost of
college. The panelists included a faculty member, a student,
and a representative from OpenStax. To further their
argument of moving toward increasing adoptions of open
course materials, panelists cited the College Board’s books­
and­supplies cost number of more than $1,200 per year
(although it was miscited to state that students spend that
much money on textbooks alone) and a student Public
Interest Research Group study saying that two­thirds of
students don’t buy textbooks because of costs. OER were
touted as a huge cost­saver over traditional course
materials; however, one board member pushed back
slightly on the savings numbers by pointing out that
students often utilize used books rather than buying
everything new. The hearing video can be found here and
the agenda for the meeting can be found here.
ED Launches OER Initiative
On Oct. 29, the Obama administration launched an initiative to encourage the use of openly
licensed educational materials. The campaign, #GoOpen, aims to increase access to such
materials. According to the Department of Education’s (ED) press release, “‘In order to
ensure that all students—no matter their ZIP code—have access to high­quality learning
resources, we are encouraging districts and states to move away from traditional textbooks
and toward freely accessible, openly licensed materials,’ U.S. Education Secretary Arne
Duncan said. ‘Districts across the country are transforming learning by using materials that
can be constantly updated and adjusted to meet students’ needs.’”
ED has partnered with private­sector companies to implement this initiative, including
Amazon and Creative Commons. Additionally, ED is proposing a regulation that would
“require all copyrightable intellectual property created with Department grant funds to have
an open license.” The full press release can be found here and the proposed rule can be found
here.
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