6 Temple’s Textbook Listening Tour: Executive Summary

Textbook Listening Tour: Executive Summary

To read more about this project read Steven J. Bell’s and Annie Johnson’s article published in College and Research Library News found here: https://web.archive.org/save/https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/17780/19598

Created by Steven J. Bell and Annie Johnson

The high cost of textbooks affects every Temple student. Temple Libraries has had a longstanding interest in supporting textbook affordability. Since 2011, we have run the Textbook Affordability Project, which has saved Temple students hundreds of thousands of dollars by incentivizing faculty to replace their commercial textbook with library-licensed content or with open educational resources (OER) such as an open textbook. This report presents the findings and recommendations of a Textbook Listening Tour initiated by the Libraries to develop a deeper understanding of faculty viewpoints on and engagement with textbooks. Textbook affordability is an urgent matter that requires our leadership to establish it as an institutional priority.

Key Findings:

• Faculty recognize that textbooks are expensive, and that students are sensitive to the price. A too-large percentage of students do not buy their textbooks.
• Many faculty opt for “the package deal” (expensive textbook plus instructor resources, homework and test banks), especially for large enrollment courses, where they can’t do all the grading themselves. Not all open textbooks have such ancillary materials.
• Some departments are already experimenting with open textbooks, while others remain skeptical.
• Faculty who participated in SOAR indicated that the redesign of their course was an optimal time to rethink course learning material and potentially adopt an open textbook or other OER.

Key Recommendations:

• Develop a communications strategy aimed at faculty that encourages the adoption of no or low-cost learning content.
• Organize a new Textbook Affordability Committee and charge it to review and implement, as appropriate, the recommendations of the 2016 Textbook Affordability Task Force, while also identifying new strategies.
• Enlist Temple University librarians and CAT instructional designers to develop opportunities for faculty to become more aware of affordable learning options.
• Conduct an audit of current faculty use of textbooks in order to develop a more robust picture of what learning materials are in use across the curriculum.

Textbook Listening Tour: Full Report

Prepared by

Steven Bell,

Associate University Librarian for Research & Instructional Services

Annie Johnson,

Library Publishing and Scholarly Communications Specialist

Dana Dawson,

Associate Director, General Education Program

Clifford Rouder,

Assistant Director, Center for the Advancement of Teaching

Background

This project began when Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian, suggested to the Dean of Libraries Joe Lucia that there could be benefits to learning more about how faculty select the textbooks and other learning materials that they use in their classes. The Libraries have had a longstanding interest in supporting textbook affordability, and since 2011 have run the Textbook Affordability Project which has saved Temple students hundreds of thousands of dollars. Bell recommended a “Textbook Listening Tour,” a series of visits to academic departments designed to engage faculty in conversation about textbooks and other learning materials through a series of open-ended questions, rather than an effort to sell faculty on the need for adopting open educational resources (OER). In addition, this initiative could be designed to gather information to help Temple University determine if its now defunct Textbook Affordability Task Force should be reinstated.

This initiative built on the work of two previous groups organized to examine textbook issues at the University. One of those groups, the Textbook Affordability Task Force, composed of representatives from multiple administrative offices, the Bookstore, faculty, and students, was organized by Vice-Provost for Undergraduate Studies Peter Jones to develop a set of recommendations in support of advancing textbook affordability at Temple University. The other group was a Leadership Academy team that conducted a textbook affordability research project contributed by Temple Libraries. Both groups developed a set of recommendations aimed at improving access to affordable learning materials. Many of these ideas could be adopted or examined to help launch new initiatives. Those recommendations are found in Appendix C of this report.

Previously, in Dean Lucia’s conversations with Provost JoAnn Epps about the Task Force, Provost Epps was open to the possibility of reviving the group but did indicate that it would be helpful to have more information about faculty textbook practices at Temple. As a next step, Dean Lucia invited Stephanie Fiore and Dan Berman to a meeting to discuss textbook affordability issues and the prospects of engaging in the Textbook Listening Tour (TLT) as a way to gather information from faculty while increasing awareness of the issues. A decision was made to move ahead with the Textbook Listening Tour in the fall of 2017.

Development and Implementation

To organize the TLT, Steven Bell and Annie Johnson, Library Publishing and Scholarly Communications Specialist, met with Dana Dawson, Associate Director, General Education Program, and Cliff Rouder, CAT Assistant Director. Together they developed a set of open-ended questions (see Appendix B) that would guide the conversation and surface information about departmental or individual textbook selection and usage behaviors. To test the questions a meeting was organized with Charles Allen, Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Programs in the Fox School of Business. Assistant Dean Allen was encouraged to invite faculty interested in a discussion about textbook usage in the Fox School.

Initially, the intent was to have all the TLT interview team members attend these meetings, along with the Temple Libraries subject specialist assigned to that college or department. Bell, Johnson, Dawson, and Rouder, along with Adam Shambaugh, Business Reference Librarian, attended the Fox School meeting. In a subsequent meeting to debrief the Fox visit, it was determined that future TLT visits would be organized and attended by library staff. Some of the questions were slightly modified but overall they worked well to establish and sustain conversations about textbooks. The Fox School meeting set the stage for a series of meetings in the spring 2018 semester. Perhaps the most challenging aspect of the TLT was organizing the meetings with each academic department. Given the difficulty of finding times of availability for all the participants, it limited the number of meetings that could be organized during the spring term.

We were pleased to organize six TLT visits for the spring semester. A summary of each visit is provided in Appendix A. The question set used to facilitate the conversation is provided in Appendix B.

Summary of Tour Findings

• Departments, schools, and colleges recognize that textbooks are expensive, and that students are sensitive to their cost. Almost every department noted that some percentage of their students do not buy the required textbooks for their classes.
• At the same time, for many departments, schools, and colleges, “the package deal” (textbook, instructor resources, homework and test banks) is too good to pass up. They note that these packages are necessary for teaching large, introductory classes where there is a lot to cover and they need to make sure students are learning the material. Faculty perceive these packages as critical to their own and student success. More than once, faculty cited the convenience and time-saving feature of automated quizzes and grades that auto-fill Canvas gradebooks. We noted a differentiation with upper-level courses where fewer textbooks are required and they are typically less costly.
• In the course of our interviews, we found a range of behaviors and attitudes around textbook use. Some departments use very few textbooks, while others still heavily rely on them. Some departments are experimenting with open textbooks, while others remain skeptical. In some departments, faculty can assign whatever materials they want, while in others that decision is made by a committee in consultation with a course coordinator.
• Faculty who don’t use textbooks generally cited two reasons: 1. That there were no appropriate textbooks for the topic or general dissatisfaction with existing textbooks 2. That developments in the field are happening so rapidly that textbooks can’t keep up.
• We heard from several faculty who were using their own materials in classes. This material is not necessarily something they would think of publishing, because it often includes borrowed materials from others. However, if there was some incentive for them to publish their teaching materials, faculty, particularly teaching and instructional faculty, might be interested in doing so.
• Faculty relationships with textbook publishers range from “they come and go as they please in our department” to “we actively ask them not to come here.” In general, commercial textbooks publisher representatives can and do influence faculty behavior around textbook selection.
• We spoke with a few departments where, in lieu of textbooks, faculty pool their high quality learning resources (e.g., articles, web resources, etc.) into a departmental repository where they serve as a community resources from which instructors can pull learning content for their courses. This may serve as a model for future “zero textbook” departments.
• Some faculty are concerned that depending more heavily on open or no-cost digital content will be problematic for students who want to print out their course readings as it will quickly use up their institutional print quota.
• Faculty who participated in SOAR indicated that their re-design of the course was an optimal time to re-think course learning material and potentially adopt an open textbook or other OER.

Recommendations for Next Steps

While we plan to continue organizing additional TLT visits for the fall 2018 term, as these are excellent learning experiences for our textbook affordability initiative, we would like to recommend some next steps that we believe are supported by the findings from the visits and would advance the adoption of affordable learning materials at Temple University.

Communication/Awareness Building

• We invite the Provost’s Office to work with the Libraries to develop a communication strategy aimed at faculty that encourages the adoption of no or low-cost learning content and recognizes those faculty who have already stopped using traditional commercial textbooks.
• The Vice-Provost’s letter to new faculty is an opportunity to encourage faculty to consider using OER in their classes in order to give students a more affordable higher education experience.
• The Provost’s Office, Libraries, and CAT could collaborate to organize a town-hall style meeting, inviting faculty and students to discuss the topic of textbook costs in order to learn more about attitudes, perceptions, and realities for students around this topic. After our visits, we realized that we had heard a lot about students and their needs but we hadn’t actually engaged with students on this issue.
• We heard one faculty member suggest that it’s inconsequential for Temple students to spend $100 or more for a textbook. Given a growing emphasis on higher education affordability and how a segment of Temple students struggle with food insecurity or homelessness, the Libraries could better connect our textbook affordability efforts to similar campus initiatives aimed at affordability.

Organizational Prioritization

• The Provost’s Office has an opportunity to leverage the growing interest in discovering and adopting affordable learning content by organizing a new Textbook Affordability Committee and charging it to review and implement, as appropriate, the recommendations of the 2016 Textbook Affordability Task Force, while also identifying new strategies for advancing affordable learning materials at Temple University.
• In the course of these visits we learned there are faculty who have already abandoned traditional commercial textbooks but we have no way of knowing who or how many fall into this category. An audit of textbook use by Temple faculty, perhaps sponsored by the Provost’s Office or Faculty Senate, would provide more accurate information on the state of textbook use at Temple University.

Faculty Support/Education

• Faculty responded positively to engaging with their librarian subject specialist about textbooks. This supports the positive outcomes experienced from the existing Textbook Affordability Project where library liaisons work directly with faculty to develop strategies for alternate learning materials. Librarians could expand their role in helping faculty to learn more about OER and identifying no or low-cost learning materials.
• Faculty in several departments indicated they would benefit from more resources and assistance in identifying new types of learning content, from open educational resources to licensed library content, as well as the library e-reserve technology. The Libraries should create more opportunities for faculty to become aware of these resources and services to facilitate their adoption of textbook alternatives.

Appendix A: Summaries of Individual Tour Visits

Math Department (09/27/17)

• The Math department relies heavily on textbooks, many of which are significantly expensive.
• For Intermediate Algebra, the decision around what textbook to used was based on a number of different factors, including the content covered in the course, the need for online homework, and the use of the book by adjuncts teaching at Philadelphia Community College.
• One Math faculty member, Raymond F. Coughlin, has written a number of textbooks about calculus.

Fox School of Business (12/21/17)

• The School of Business relies heavily on textbooks. They often view textbooks as part of a package that includes homework and test banks.
• The Course Coordinators are responsible for identifying the textbooks used.
• One faculty member mentioned that they offer a number of large classes which are taught by NTTs and adjuncts. These instructors rely on publishers’ ancillary materials to teach their classes. They do not have the time to create bespoke material for each class.

Physics Department (02/16/18)

• The Physics department also relies heavily on textbooks, and the all-inclusive package is important to them. However, they try to be sensitive to the costs for students and clearly explain to students how prices for materials differ based on the format chosen and whether or not a student decides to buy or rent.
• The Astronomy class is using an open textbook (from OpenStax).
• The Chair of the Department Jim Napolitano wrote his own textbook and is using it in his class (Modern Quantum Mechanics). He is the only Physics faculty member who has written his own textbook.

Earth and Environmental Sciences (03/09/18)

• EES generally relies on textbooks and lab manuals. For a few of the more advanced classes there are no suitable textbooks.
• Faculty in EES can choose to use whatever teaching materials they want in classes. Some instructors write their own labs.

College of Public Health (04/11/18)

• CPH relies on textbooks and lab manuals. Online homework is also important to them.

• For their Anatomy and Physiology class, they use Saladin, Anatomy and Physiology: Unity of Form and Function (McGraw Hill). With the lab manual and homework the total cost is about $125.
• Some faculty are experimenting with open textbooks, such as Jackie Phillips, who uses a textbook from OpenStax.

Social Work (04/12/18)

• The School of Social Work uses textbooks, but they are not wedded to them. They don’t rely on ancillary materials to the extent that other departments do.
• They were not very familiar with the costs of their materials.
• They noted that students complain about the costs of textbooks, and that they often don’t buy them.

Political Science (05/29/18)

• With the exception of two introductory courses, political science has largely moved away from textbooks. Cost is one of the reasons, but there are many others: textbooks are rarely up-to-date with what’s happening in the world, and there may be no suitable book for the course anyways.
• Introduction to American Government and Introduction to International Relations are both multi-section courses that use textbooks.
• Because political science faculty do not rely on test banks or homework problems like some other disciplines, the transition away from textbooks has been easier.

Psychology (05/30/18)

• Textbooks are commonly used in Psychology.
• A number of faculty, past and present, have authored textbooks.
• In the Introduction to Psychology class, 14 out of 19 sections are using the same textbook. Students in this class also buy access to the test bank.

Appendix B: Tour Questions

• Tell us about the textbooks that you use in your courses.

If they say they do not use a textbook…

• Why have you chosen not to use a textbook?

• What do you use as an alternative?

• When you select course materials, do you decide first on your course content and learning goals and then look for course materials to support the content and goals, or do you choose course materials first and then build the structure of your course and its content around them?

• How did you find or develop the alternatives you use? (For example, through colleagues, at a conference, with the support of Temple Libraries, etc.)

• How do you deliver these alternate materials to students? (If they don’t understand, examples might be via Ares, via a LMS such as Canvas, through a website, email, etc.)

GO TO QUESTIONS FOR BOTH GROUPS

If yes…[After hearing about the textbook(s) in use]

• When you select your textbook, do you decide first on your course content and learning goals and then look for a textbook to support the content and goals, or do you choose a textbook first and then build the structure of your course and its content around it?

• What do you like best about your current textbook?

• What concerns do have about your textbook?

• How do you find out about the latest textbook offerings in your field?

• What information, if any, do you provide to your students about textbook affordability on your syllabus, online or in your class?

• Do you routinely put a copy of your textbook on reserve in the library? Why or why not?

• What do you know about alternatives to textbooks?
  • If you know about alternatives, have you sought them out? If yes, how have you sought them out (e.g., by visiting a librarian, exploring online, etc.)?

• What resources would facilitate you transitioning from a textbook to an alternative source?
  • If time is an issue, what do you perceive to be the most time-consuming element of the process?

QUESTIONS FOR BOTH GROUPS

• Can you describe what an Open Educational Resource (OER) is?
  • Do you know where to find them?
  • If you have ever used an OER, can you tell us the resource you used and how you used it, e.g., as a primary or supplementary text.
  • Have you ever considered using an OER, but then decided against it? If so, why did you decide against it?
  • Did you know that there are sites where faculty can peer-review open educational resources?

• Are you aware that the Library offers grants to faculty to adopt alternatives to textbooks?
  • If you knew but did not apply, why not?
  • The award is currently $500. Do you think that is a fair amount or should it be more?

• What could Temple University Press offer you that could assist in the preparation and/or delivery of course materials?

• What could the Center for the Advancement of Teaching offer you that could assist you in the selection of course materials?

• Would you like to make any additional comments about this topic that we haven’t yet discussed?

Appendix C: Prior Recommendations

Provost’s Textbook Task Force Accomplishments and Outstanding Recommendations Spring 2016

• Committee of librarians, faculty, and administrators
• Focused on two key issues: 1) compliance with Higher Education Opportunity Act; and 2) increasing campus awareness of open education resources

Completed Tasks Related to Compliance with Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA)

• Requires students to see cost of each section prior to registration
• Previously, students could not see cost of course requirements until after registration and only upon selecting a link to Barnes & Noble Temple University’s website
• Information was often incomplete; at the time of the task force’s report, only 4% of courses had made textbook information available prior to registration
• It is now possible for students to see this information prior to registration

Additional Recommendations re: HEOA

• Establish a system to ensure schools and colleges report textbook requirements to B&N in time for course registration
• Improve textbook reporting rate by also reporting sections that DO NOT require textbooks
• B&N should explore possibility of cost summary page
• Connect Faculty Enlight on B&N website to Blackboard
• Require instructors who cannot specify texts to establish an upper limit

Additional Recommendations re: Open Education Resources

• Letter from President/Provost to university community outlining benefits of OER’s
• Invest in resources alerting faculty to OER resources such as brochures, teaching circles, and Faculty Fellows program
• Provost’s office should support an on-going consortium of invested offices throughout the university
• Strategic targeting of high enrollment courses (e.g., GenEd)
• Add statement regarding availability of Open Education Resources in Course Syllabi Policy # 02.78.13

Leadership Academy Team Recommendations

Spring 2017

• Team included tenured faculty, administrators, advisors, and staff

Outline of the General Strategy

We propose a 360-degree approach by emphasizing course material affordability across the university.

Recommendations

• Raise awareness by asking the Provost to communicate this initiative through public forums and the Council of Deans.
• “Branding” the initiative, as was done with Fly in 4.
• Publicizing initiatives with the help of current student groups like Temple Student Government and The Temple News, and including the initiative in recruitment and admissions materials.
• Create a common culture around cost reduction by changing the current focus from individual faculty on a voluntary basis to faculty who teach courses with the heaviest cost burden for students.
• Communicating with faculty via their colleges, departments, and programs; and forming clear working relationships between library professionals and faculty point persons.

Recommended Actions

• Add a question about the cost of course materials to the forms used to propose and recertify General Education courses and Writing Intensive courses.
• Work with Barnes & Noble to add an option in Enlight to indicate “no books will be ordered for this course.”
• Recommend that the Provost create programs for course materials reform to emphasize cooperative, rather than individual work. Some of these programs would require funding, staff, or both.
• Conduct hands-on workshops within departments or programs to acquaint faculty with ARES, Temple University Press, and OER.
• Deans nominate faculty in their largest or most expensive programs to receive training by library personnel about OER (modeled after the Provost’s Teaching Academy).
• A new Materials Affordability Grant (funded by the Provost’s Office) might encourage OER development for large courses or those with multiple sections. Departments or programs could assist faculty in applying for these grants.
• Offer faculty/librarian partnership grants to create new open access texts or to substantially modify existing open access texts by adding original content.
• Use original and/or library-owned materials to construct “hybrid” readers with Temple University Press.
• Create a standing committee composed of librarians, CAT staff, and faculty that could support the ongoing development of new initiatives to promote OER. The group should meet once a semester, depending on the level of work required in a given time period.
• Add new codes to Self-Service Banner to offer instructors more options to indicate how course materials will be available (in the bookstore, online, in a reader, etc.).
• Host a teaching workshop (sponsored by CAT) about the pedagogical issues involved in transitioning from print to online sources in the classroom and for student learning.

“Copy of Final Report of the Textbook Listening Tour” by Temple University Libraries is licensed under CC BY 4.0.