Q: What is the definition of a textbook? Does it include coursepacks, plays, novels, anthologies, CDs, or other materials?

A: For the purposes of this requirement, a "textbook" is any item that has an ISBN and is required or recommended for purchase for participation in a course. Other items such as CDs that do not have ISBNs do not need to be listed, even if you require or recommend that students purchase them. However, if you would like to further the spirit of the legislation in giving students advance notice of the course's purchasing requirements, the CourseWorks tool provides the opportunity to input information for materials that do not have ISBNs. In particular, we strongly encourage you to list coursepacks available for purchase at Print Services or other vendors through the "no ISBN" option of this tool.

Q: Students in our school do not have any choices about which courses they will take. All of our degree programs are "prescribed" according to national standards. Are we exempt from the requirement?

A: The textbook requirement is intended to provide students with advance notice about the textbooks that they will be required or recommended to purchase for all courses listed in our directory of classes. At some schools, this information may play a role in students' selection of courses. At others, it simply provides textbook information in advance so that students are informed about the prices and purchasing options of required and recommended textbooks. Therefore, having a prescribed curriculum does not exempt you from the requirement.

Q: Am I required to provide textbook information if my course is a non-credit or non-degree course?

A: This requirement applies to all courses listed in our directory of classes. If a course is not listed in our directory of classes, then you do not have to provide the textbook information. Otherwise, you must provide textbook information through the CourseWorks tool.

Q: I don't require students to purchase any materials for my course; I simply require them to complete readings, which they may borrow from the library. Do I need to list the required readings if I don't have an opinion about whether the students purchase them?

A: The Higher Education Opportunity Act requires that only those textbooks which students are required or recommended to purchase be listed at the time of registration. If you do not have any textbooks that you recommend or require for purchase, you may check the "no textbooks" option in the CourseWorks tool.

Q: What if I do not have any textbooks that I require or recommend students purchase?

A: Within the textbook tool, click on "Edit Textbook" and check the box for "no textbooks".

Q: What information am I required to enter for each textbook?

A: If you have the ISBN, you may enter just this number. Our system will prove the title, author, publisher, copyright date, and if available, pricing information. Please check this information to confirm that it is the correct textbook. If the textbook does not have an ISBN or you do not have it available, select "no ISBN" and enter the title, author, publisher and copyright date. Please note that no pricing information will be listed for materials without an ISBN.

Q: How many textbooks can I enter?

A: As many as you choose.

Q: Can I change the textbooks I require or recommend students purchase after I have entered them into CourseWorks?

A: You may change the entries for your courses at any time. The site will have a disclosure indicating that the course textbook information is subject to change.

Q: I expect the publisher of one of my textbooks to release a new edition before the term begins but after the students register. Should I wait to enter it in CourseWorks until I confirm the new edition's availability?

A: You should enter the current edition of the textbook before the students' registration deadline. You can always replace it once the new edition becomes available. If you would like, you may add additional information about the potential change elsewhere on your CourseWorks site.

Q: One of my courses has yet to be approved by my School's Committee on Instruction (CoI). When should I enter the textbook information for it into CourseWorks?

A: You should wait on entering the textbooks you require or recommend for purchase until you have the approval of your CoI and the course has appeared in CourseWorks.

Q: I am an adjunct. I know I will be teaching next semester but have yet to obtain a UNI. How can I access CourseWorks to input my textbook information?

A: Please contact your departmental administrator, provide your date of birth and ask them to create your UNI in the DIA system. You will have access to CourseWorks 24 hours after UNI creation.

Q: Will the textbook information be shared with the University bookstore?

A: We are required by the statute to make the information available to the University bookstore. However, this by no means requires that your students purchase their books at the University bookstore, nor does it preclude you from establishing a relationship for distributing your course materials with another local vendor.

Q: Why do we have to provide the textbook information so early?

A: The timing of providing textbook information is based on student registration for the upcoming term. The HEOA statute requires us to provide textbook information to students at the time of registration. For some schools, this occurs in April for the upcoming fall term. As a result, textbook information must be provided six months in advance for some schools.

Q: Must I enter this information each term?

A: Yes, if you are teaching a course in any term, you must add this information. You may migrate content from previous term starting with the Spring 2011 term. No content will be automatically migrated. Details on the migration feature will be available in Fall 2010.