New federal affects how students register, find books
All professors are required to post materials online for their class before it can be open for registration because of the Higher Education Act Reauthorization, an act passed by Congress that is being implemented in the summer 2010 registration.
Congress passed the act with the intent to provide students with full disclosure of costs associated with their education, John Mortensen the registrar, said. USU already discloses tuition, student body fees and class fees, but the act requires institutions to disclose additional costs, such as those associated with textbooks or other course materials.
The bill is hundreds of pages long and contains other matters regarding higher education, such as campus safety and how student loans are processed. However, implementing book fees into registration is the main one USU is dealing with.
According to the House bill, institutions of higher education are required to disclose in their course schedules, “to the maximum extent practicable,” the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) of every required and recommended textbook and supplemental materials and retail price information. Publishers are required to provide faculty members with price information, copyright dates of all previous editions in the preceding 10 years and to disclose whether the textbook or supplemental materials are available in any other format.
The deadlines are several weeks prior to registration so the bookstore can have sufficient time to obtain pricing information. When faculty members have an approved exception for not meeting the textbook deadline, the course materials may be listed as “to be determined.”
Students and faculty should be aware that there will be some classes offered in the summer and fall that students will not be able to see or register for until the textbook information is received and processed by the bookstore.
Mortensen said not only does the act not resolve any registration problems, it may create some. He said it will put a lot of pressure on faculty members to decide on their course materials much earlier in the process. The implementation of the act will be problematic for courses in which the faculty member has not disclosed information regarding textbooks and other course materials, Mortensen said.
Mortensen said although the act may create problems for faculty, it could be advantageous for students.
“The advantage to students is that they will have more information up front about the costs, so they won’t be surprised when they realize how much it is all going to be,” Mortensen said. “The main intent of this act is a full disclosure of all costs associated with the class.”
David Parkinson, USU Bookstore director, said a benefit coming from the act is being more prepared.
“It could be beneficial if it helps us better meet the student’s needs and have the products available and in stock when the semester starts,” Parkinson said.
However, USU student Trevor Feigleson said the act could make students overlook certain classes because of textbook prices.
“I think it would be nice to know, but students might skip over classes they would have otherwise taken because of how much the books cost,” Feigleson said. “I would say it’s not necessary.”
Parkinson said that as far as the bookstore is concerned, it was too early to tell if this act will be a blessing or a curse.
“We are doing all we can to comply with the new legislation, and we are working very closely with the Registrar and faculty to make every effort to have the needed information available for the students,” he said.
Parkinson said since the deadline has been moved up for the faculty, the bookstore will get the information sooner. He said that should lead to more books being bought back from the students at the end of the semester, resulting in “thousands of more dollars in the students hands” and having more books available to start the semester.
– megan.b@aggiemail.usu.edu