Board of Regents Policy Manual

Official Policies of the University System of Georgia

3.10 Academic Textbooks

The University System of Georgia (USG) Chief Academic Officer shall establish guidelines in the Academic & Student Affairs Handbook regarding the designation and sale of textbooks required for coursework at USG institutions, including provisions that:

  1. Promote increased communication between students, faculty, and college bookstores concerning the use of textbooks in the classroom, the designation of required versus recommended texts, textbook costs (including a designation of free and low-cost textbooks and textbook alternatives), textbook adoption schedules, alternative acquisition methods, and other factors affecting the designation and sale of textbooks in order to increase the options available to students in meeting their cost of education while maintaining academic rigor and quality of instruction;

  2. Ensure that bookstore operations, whether managed internally or outsourced to private vendors, offer the best value to students in acquiring textbooks and actively promote alternative options to help minimize student cost;

  3. Require a review process at the institution for determining if faculty may use self-authored texts in their classroom; and,

  4. Prohibit faculty from reselling sample texts provided by publishers or profiting from any financial incentives offered by publishers in the assignment of specific texts.

↑ Top