1. BOOKS AND BEYOND: 2.6 MILLION STUDENTS CAN CHANGE THE STATUS QUO!

2. A sustainable solution to the problem of rising textbook costs must meet the needs of all stakeholders:
Students must have lower costs while maintaining the quality of their learning materials
Faculty must have access to the most recent content, pedagogical tools, and training to support their teaching (Student Success)
University administrators must be able to see demonstrable improvement in student and faculty performance
And publishers need sales revenue to support their growing investments

3. START A TEXTBOOK AFFORDABILITY COMMITTEE
Start a team of enthusiastic PASSIONATE students in your A.S. to begin a campaign of awareness
Learn about the various bills that have been passed on textbook affordability
Type in the word COLLEGE TEXTBOOKS/BOOKSTORES at the top and narrow your search… MANY bills have been introduced and passed
Using this newly acquired education you can go to the next step

4. OTHER VALUABLE RESOURCES TO LEARN ABOUT TEXTBOOK ISSUES:
California Textbook Audit Report
Author of the Open Educational Resources (OER) campaign in the Foothill/De-Anza District in San Francisco
Research studies
Very successful Textbook Rental Program in San Diego

5. YOUR COLLEGE BOOKSTORE
Establish a good relationship between the Associated Students of your college and your Bookstore!
Without this partnership NOTHING will be possible
Have meet and greet – MAKE AN APPOINTMENT. They are VERY busy, and you don’t want to step on their toes and burn your bridges with too much aggression.
Bring only your top student leaders on textbook issues to meet your bookstore manager

6. INSTRUCTORS: DO THEY CARE or DO THEY JUST NOT KNOW?
Faculty do not even know the laws (Audit Report)
They do not understand the processes and logistics behind purchasing cost effective books
Requisitions (book requests) on time
Teachers complaints
Starbucks coffee and I-Pods

7. STUDENT SUCCESS INITIATIVE VS ACADEMIC FREEDOM
The Student Success Initiative (SSI)
This is a state mandate that forces ALL districts to view student success as ONE OF THE HIGHEST priorities to get basic skills students to move on to the workforce or to a 4 year university.
Basic Skills courses are Math and English college competency classes such as:
Basic and Intermediate Algebra
Basic Grammar
English as a Second Language etc.

8. STUDENT SUCCESS INITIATIVE VS ACADEMIC FREEDOM
This is also a state mandate that gives teachers/instructors the FREEDOM to choose ANY book they see fit in teaching their curriculum
The problem with this is that many instructors hide behind this so that they do not have to be accountable to purchasing expensive textbooks
They do not want to be TOLD how to teach their classes (via their educational materials)

9. STUDENT SUCCESS INITIATIVE VS ACADEMIC FREEDOM
SOLUTION!!!
Student Success Committee
At a recent meeting on my campus, 6 guidelines were discussed as to the requirements needed to obtain state funding for increasing student success in Basic Skills courses:
The 6th one down the list was EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
This is the loophole needed to start a Textbook Rental Program for Basic Skills courses AT EVERY COLLEGE IN CALIFORNIA!
Do to my persistent questioning, our campus started its first ever Textbook Rental Committee to begin discussion on creating a program at our campus

10. CORE ADOPTIONS Create surveys Poll your student body
How much they spend a year on books?
How many times they have dropped a class because of the cost of the books?
How many times they have went through an entire semester without a book because of the cost?
How many buy their books online?
Poll your Academic Affairs department and bookstore for sections that have same textbooks
Use this information as ammunition to get other teachers who are INDIVIDUALISTIC to jump on board!
If other teachers are doing it WHY AREN’T YOU!?

11. What can we do? USE YOUR CLUBS!
Go to Club Council meetings to express ideas and concerns
Create contests between them
Get them excited!
Make T-Shirts and pass them out to the presidents of the clubs (on avg they $7/EA)
Show a video!

12. What can we do? NETWORK AROUND CAMPUS
As student leaders, we don’t only just meet once a week for our A.S. meetings, but we must communicate effectively with staff to get our voice out there!
Go to open faculty meetings
Join shared governance committees:
IE College Council, Student Success Committee, Academic Senate etc.

13. ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
IF ANY OF YOU EVER HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR NEED ADVICE ON YOUR OWN CAMPUS’…. DO NOT HESITATE TO REACH ME…
CONTACT INFO:
Christian Marfil-Amatulli
At-Large Senator, SSCCC