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Trustees adopt textbook‑affordability regulation after debate over president's delegation and ISPs
Summary
New College trustees approved a Board of Governors‑aligned update to regulation 4‑2003 on textbook and instructional materials affordability after public comment and trustee questions about applicability to ISPs/tutorials and delegation to the president.
The New College of Florida Board of Trustees voted Thursday to adopt an updated regulation on textbook and instructional materials affordability that adds faculty attestation requirements and a searchable database for required course materials.
Public commenters and several trustees raised concerns that the new language, which also delegates implementing authority to the president or designee, could give campus leadership excessive control over course content or impose undue compliance burdens on tutorials and ISPs. Kathleen Cody, a Charter Class alum and public commenter, urged trustees not to delegate determinations of appropriateness to the president and said such delegation was not mandated by the Board of Governors.
"Delegating the decision of appropriateness to the president is not mandated by the BOG. This should be left to the division chairs or the provost," Cody said during the public comment period.
Legal counsel David Brickhouse responded that Board of Governors staff had clarified the amended BOG regulation is intended to apply to materials instructors require for a course and is not meant to cover student‑generated reading lists or mutually agreed tutorial reading. Brickhouse said the college’s proposed regulation had been drafted to match the BOG’s required elements while reflecting New College’s academic structures.
Trustees debated a motion to table the regulation for committee review; that motion failed. Several trustees pressed for implementation guidance to preserve New College’s tutorial and ISP traditions; Trustee Harvey, the faculty trustee, asked whether compliance would require reading lists to be finalized before the semester or if there is flexibility for tutorials. Brickhouse and the provost said there is nuance in the regulation that exempts certain student‑generated or post‑deadline materials and that the provost’s office would provide an implementation plan.
The board approved the regulation by voice vote with at least one recorded opposition. Administration said the provost and legal office will craft an implementation timeline and guidance for faculty and students to clarify applicability to ISPs and tutorials.
