A campus of The California State University

Office of the Academic Senate • One Washington Square • San Jose, California 95192-0024 •408-924-2440  Fax: 408-924-2451

F07-3

At its meeting of December 10, 2007, the Academic Senate passed the following Policy Recommendation presented by Senator Sivertsen for the Instruction and Student Affairs Committee.

POLICY RECOMMENDATION

Access to Instructional Materials:

Timely Identification of Textbooks, Course Readers and Library Reserves

Whereas:       Vision 2010 asserts that San José State University will be known for providing a welcoming, inclusive environment; and

Whereas:       The shared values of San José State University include diversity, and therefore San José State University values and respects diversity, inclusion, civility and individual uniqueness; and

Whereas:       The choice of instructional material should be a faculty prerogative; and

Whereas        CSU Executive Order No. 926 and Coded Memo AA 2006-41 require that by June 2007, following consultation with local senates, all CSU campuses create plans to support faculty and staff practices that will ensure timely access to instructional materials; and

Whereas:       San José State University and the CSU have ongoing commitments to provide equal access to information resources to individuals with disabilities (per SJSU AS SS-S07-1, CSU AS-2700-05 and Executive Order 926); and

Whereas:       All students benefit when textbooks, course readers and library reserves are identified in a timely manner; and

Whereas:       Textbooks and course-packs are often required courseware and must be available to all students at the same time; and

Whereas:       Textbook publishers are in many cases required by California Statue AB 422 to provide textbooks in digital form; and

Whereas:       San José State University and the CSU are in a continual process of converting textbooks and other instructional material into alternative forms; and

Whereas:       Conversion and processing of campus-wide textbooks and course-packs to accessible formats by the Disability Resource Center takes several weeks; and

Whereas:       There is great diversity among departments at San José State University with regard to who is responsible for the selection of textbooks and other instructional materials; be it therefore

Resolved:       That faculty be encouraged to choose course materials from publishers who provide accessible content as well as course materials identified in our database of converted material; and be it further

Resolved:       That for each semester the University will identify the deadlines for the selection of textbooks, course readers and library reserves to be adopted; and be it further

Resolved:       That each department develop a procedure for selection of textbooks, course readers and library reserves in a timely manner by faculty, including late hires; and be it further

Resolved:       That each department provide all faculty with the Accessible Technology Initiative policy and department procedures for selection of textbooks, course readers and library reserves; and be it further

Resolved:       That departments inform faculty that they must inform the campus bookstore about their selections of textbooks, course readers and library reserves irrespective of the source they choose, and be it further

Resolved:       That compliance with department procedures be reviewed annually by College Deans or their designees.

Rationale:        EO 926, the CSU Board of Trustees Policy on Disability Support and Accommodations states: “it is the policy of the CSU to make information technology resources and services accessible to all CSU students, faculty, staff and the general public regardless of disability.” 

Coded Memorandum AA-2006-41 establishes a process for ensuring compliance with federal and state laws, and CSU policy regarding access to information technology and resources.  One of the three priorities addressed in that plan includes instructional materials accessibility. 

Instructional materials (textbooks, course readers and library reserves), to the extent possible, must be accessible to students with disabilities at the same time they are available to other student enrolled in that program.  AA-2006-41 states, “By June 2007, following consultation with local senates as appropriate, each campus will create a plan to support faculty and staff practices that will ensure timely access to instructional materials.  This plan will include: (1) Timely adoption of textbooks by faculty, and (2) strategy for identification of textbooks for late-hired faculty…” Timely adoption is important to allow time to work with vendors, publishers, and DRC staff to provide the necessary instructional materials.

EO 926 is available online at: http://www.calstate.edu/EO/EO-926.html

AA-2006-41 is available online at http://www.calstate.edu/acadaff/codedmemos/AA-2006-41.pdf

Approved:                  December 3, 2007

Present:                      Brown, David, Fee, Han, Henderson, McDaniel, Reyes, Sivertsen, Willey,

Absent:                       Campsey, Gao, Hansen, Kelly, Langdon

Vote:                           9-0-0

Financial Impact:       The fiscal impact of the policy recommendation will reduce the growing cost to produce alternative media for students with disabilities.

Workload Impact:      Increased workload for chairs, deans, and some faculty.

ACTION BY UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT:  Approved by President Don Kassing on

                                                                                    December 13, 2007