Adoption of Course Materials

Purpose:

This policy establishes processes regarding the selection and adoption of course materials and the services provided by the bookstore for textbook orders and distribution for credit courses. In addition, this policy establishes standards and processes for creating and offering Open Education Resources (OER) sections of established courses.

The procedures for implementation of this policy are provided below.

Procedure and/or Process Definitions:

College library materials: the library provides access to thousands of magazine, journal, and newspaper articles, e-books, and streaming videos available through databases purchased by the college.

Copyright: copyright is a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works; faculty who wish to use copyrighted material may do so by linking to it online.

Corresponding course: a course offered at more than one campus/site.

Course materials: may include textbooks, audio-visual materials, copyrighted online materials or those in the public domain, material from the college’s databases as well as supporting materials.

Course Materials Selection Committee: a group of faculty (full-time and/or adjunct) within the discipline, including the department chair in consultation with the dean.

Creative commons license: Creative commons licenses manage the copyright terms that attach automatically to all creative material under copyright and allow that material to be shared and reused under terms that are flexible and legally sound.

Discipline: a course prefix such as ENG for English, NUR for Nursing, etc.

Fair use: Fair use is a legal doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders based on a set of criteria.

LT40: the LT40 designation in PeopleSoft refers to courses in which the total textbook costs are less than $40.00.

Open Educational Resources (OER): OER are teaching, learning, and research resources that are free and accessible to students and faculty, and include materials from one or more of the following areas: open textbooks; original materials created by the instructor with a creative commons license; materials in the public domain; materials published under a creative commons license; materials available through the college library (e-books, videos, database articles); and/or links to copyrighted materials online.

Original content:material created by a faculty member and published under an open license such as a creative commons license.

Pirated online course materials: materials currently under copyright that have been scanned and posted online without permission from the copyright holder.

Proprietary materials:course materials developed by publishers and/or manufacturers.

Public domain: works in the “public domain” are no longer under copyright protection or have failed to meet the requirements for copyright protection. Works in the public domain may be used freely without permission.

Textbook:may include any supporting material, including electronic or printed media bundled with the textbook, or other required materials.

ZERO: the ZERO designation in PeopleSoft refers to courses in which the total textbook costs are zero.

Procedures:

Course materials should meet established copyright and licensing law and regulations; Academic Deans and department chairs are responsible for ensuring that teaching faculty understand these requirements. If a faculty member needs development to understand copyright or licensing, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning partners with Reynolds Libraries to provide training for faculty or to provide assistance in locating materials that meet copyright and licensing needs.

Academic Deans and department chairs should work with the Office of Academic Affairs to assure that course materials align with the course attributes displayed to students during the scheduling process.

The following procedures will be followed for faculty interested in adopting OER.

1. Criteria for designating a course section as OER - ZERO

   An OER - ZERO section at Reynolds is one that:

   1. requires zero cost for course materials

   2. provides course materials in formats that promote student accessibility

   3. includes course materials in one or more of the following areas:

      1. open textbooks
      2. original materials created by the instructor with a creative commons license
      3. materials in the public domain
      4. materials published under a creative commons license
      5. materials available through the college library (e-books, videos, database articles)
      6. links to legal copies of copyrighted materials online

      A course section may NOT be designated as an OER course if it:

      1. requires the purchase of any course materials, no matter how inexpensive

      2. does not require the purchase of a textbook or other course materials, but instead makes use of one or more of the following:

         1. photocopied or scanned copyrighted materials that violate “fair use” guidelines
         2. original content developed by the instructor who has not licensed the material under a creative commons license
         3. links to sites that violate copyright law
         4. proprietary materials provided by publishers or manufacturers at no cost

2. Criteria for designating a course section as OER – LT40

   An OER – LT40 section at Reynolds is one that:

   1. requires less than $40 for course materials

   2. provides course materials in formats that promote student accessibility

   3. Purchased course materials may be combined with course materials in one or more of the following areas:

      1. open textbooks
      2. original materials created by the instructor with a creative commons license
      3. materials in the public domain
      4. materials published under a creative commons license
      5. materials available through the college library (e-books, videos, database articles)
      6. links to legal copies of copyrighted materials online

3. Quality standards for OER

   As subject matter experts, faculty are responsible for selecting and developing OER of equal or greater quality than commercially distributed publisher content currently available for adoption. Reynolds librarians can assist with researching potential OER materials. All OER elected for inclusion in any course must align directly to course outcomes. Responsibility for maintaining the academic integrity of OER will rest with the appropriate department chair, or designee, approved by the school dean.

4. Licensing of faculty original content

   Faculty who create original content that is incorporated into an OER section will place a creative commons license on such content at the time it is introduced into the course. It is the faculty member’s responsibility to ensure that such content is eligible for and meets the standards for such a license.

Other Information:

Addendum – Class Search Feature documentation