Provision of Learning Resources Policy / E Cratchley / Latest Update: EC
Latest update: SMT / Dec 2016
9th Jan 2017 / Dec 2017
Impact Assessment: / Oct 2015
To be reviewed every year
Provision of Learning Resources Policy
1.0Introduction
Selby College is committed to providing access to high quality, up to date learning and teaching resources for all its members. The scope of this policy defines the provision of such resources.
2.0LRC Resources
To achieve parity across courses, the LRC aims to stock traditional / e-books with core book titles at a minimum ratio of 1 copy per 10 learners on FE level courses and 2 copies per 10 students for HE level courses, or similar licensed equivalent for e-books Where applicable, quantities purchased are rounded up rather than rounded down. Sufficient budget should be allocated to ensure stock can be replenished, updated and improved on a rolling programme, as well as being developed for new programmes of study, e.g. within HE.
3.0Textbooks
3.1Access
Learners also have access to specific textbooks, recommended for their courses by course leaders, through a variety of means, traditional and or electronic.
From September 2015, learners may be loaned an existing textbook individually, free of charge for an extended period, e.g. an academic year, where sufficient quantities are available for all on the learning programme and content remains current. This is identified by course leaders / curriculum staff.
If there are insufficient quantities for all on a programme, or it is preferred by the relevant curriculum department, existing books can be made available for use in class instead (a class-set). Books that form part of a class-set must not be lent to students to take off-site; they should borrow shorter loan copies from the LRC, if they wish to use them elsewhere.
Learners may be able to access an e-book for their course, accessible anywhere 24/7, through E-library. E-Library is provided free to colleges through JISC and current titles are licensed for one or more years, or have been purchased by JISC in perpetuity. An up to date, course-specific e-book on E-Library constitutes an acceptable level of provision and for reasons of cost efficiency, E-Library should always be investigated for appropriate materials by lecturers / SAMs prior to purchasing, or recommending students to purchase, any books.
Where course specifications have changed, and for delivery of new courses where existing textbooks are not appropriate, textbooks may be recommended for students to purchase. Such recommendations should be made by the course leader, approved by the SAM and kept to a maximum of 1 book per course, with the exception of literature where set texts are involved, to minimise the financial burden placed on learners and their parents. Where household income is below the threshold for bursary, currently £24,500, learners can apply for bursary funding for recommended textbooks and should be actively encouraged to do so. Students whose textbooks have been funded through bursary are expected to return them at the end of their course, so these copies can be passed on to others with similar circumstances.
3.2Textbooks recommended for students to purchase
Learners will be offered a window of opportunity to purchase recommended textbooks for their courses through college. This enables students to buy new books at reduced prices and reduces the risk of them obtaining the wrong book elsewhere. College will charge at “cost plus 5%, rounded up to the nearest 5p”. Discounts by title are negotiated for bulk purchases over the summer, so curriculum areas must ensure their recommended books are notified to the Learning Resources Manager no later than ‘Admin Week’ in early July, so they can be included within the scope of the package to be offered the following term. It is up to learners whether or not they make use of this service.
3.3Class Sets
Where an up to date, course-specific e-book is available on E-Library and the lecturer delivering the course prefers an alternative textbook, a class-set of the preferred book may be provided, if there is sufficient justification. Class sets may also be provided for lower ability classes at level 1 and below. Class sets are paid for from the curriculum area budget and logged on the Library Management System, with the curriculum department identified as both the owner and location.
3.4Supplementary Resources
Costs of supplementary materials considered optional for the course (such as revision guides) should be charged to learners. Where possible, college will obtain a best price for a bulk order and pass discounts obtained to learners, either in their entirety or on a similar basis to textbooks, dependent on the amount of work involved in procurement. Money must be collected and names of purchasers taken ahead of the order being placed, to avoid unsold stock.
Copyright law permitting, supplementary materials produced in-house should be charged to learners to cover production costs. In practice, this is likely to preclude resources containing any third-party owned rights, including typographical copyright. Copies of supplementary materials will be available to borrow from regular LRC stock to ensure access for those unable to afford individual copies. Reservation queues for these items will be monitored to ensure copies circulate appropriately.
3.5Buy-back Schemes
In the interest of fairness, curriculum departments must not operate their own individual buy-back schemes for resources learners have purchased. The Learning Resources Manager will undertake a feasibility study,in conjunction with the Finance Manager, ahead of possible implementation of a college-wide buy-back scheme.
3.6Exam Copies
Exam copies for open book exams, where candidates are permitted to use a pristine copy of a set literature text, will be provided by the college and paid for by the curriculum department.
3.7Teaching Resources
Textbooks and other resources required for teaching should be purchased from curriculum department budgets. To maintain a central record, they are logged as staff copies located in and owned by the curriculum department, and issued indefinitely.
4.0Procedure for Curriculum Areas to Obtain / Recommend Textbooks
4.1Communicating Textbook Issue Requirements – Existing Books & Class-Sets
Textbook grids for the following academic year will be circulated to SAMs by the Learning Resources Manager between April and mid-June. The grids must be fully completed and returned to the Learning Resources Manager no later than the end of ‘Admin Week’ in July for existing textbooks that are to be issued, and any justifiable, new class-sets to be purchased. The college e-books collections must be checked by curriculum areas prior to submitting justifications for purchase. Each grid must be authorised by the SAM. Stock will be checked and orders collated in July for August delivery,if funded from the following year’s budget. Resource requests submitted after the July Training Day deadline will be dealt with as soon as practicable, but there are no guarantees that such items will be ready in September.
4.2 Communicating Recommendations for Students to Purchase
The college e-books collections must be checked by curriculum areas prior to submitting recommendations for student purchases. Recommended books should be limited to one per course as far as possible, with the exception of revision guides and literature set-texts. The Learning Resources Manager will circulate details of the process for recommending books for student purchase between May and June, with recommendations to be received back on the required paperwork by the end of ‘Admin Week’ in July. SAMs must authorise all recommendations for purchase from their areas.
5.0Textbook Issuing Process for Learners
5.1A-Level Students
Existing textbooks are issued to A-level students during the A-Level Welcome Days when they have a ‘free study period’ in the LRC whilst on mini-timetable. Items are issued in the LRC and logged to individual student borrower accounts. Textbooks do not count towards an individual’s LRC allocation so 8 items are permitted in addition to the textbooks required for a course. Individual arrangements are made for those unable to be in college at their designated time. Textbooks for subsequent years will not be issued to continuing students until they have returned or paid to replace all textbook resources due the previous year and reduced any fines owed to below £1.00. In cases of genuine financial hardship this requirement will be adapted, depending on individual circumstances, so no learner is disadvantaged at the start of their continuing year.
5.2Vocational students
Vocational tutors should book an agreed time with the LRC for their class to borrow their designated textbooks. As with A-level students, textbooks do not count towards the LRC allocation of 8 items and continuing students must have returned or paid to replace all resources due the previous academic year and reduced any fines below £1.00 before they can borrow for subsequent years. The same arrangements apply in cases of genuine financial hardship.
5.3Condition of Resources & Charging for Replacement Copies
All learners are given the opportunity to check that the textbooks issued to them on long-term loan are in good condition at the outset and to note any signs of wear and/or damage on a form before accepting them. These forms are kept in the LRC and referred to as necessary when items are returned. Students are also encouraged to write their name on the due date label to avoid any mix-ups in class, as they are expected to be individually responsible for the specific, numbered copy that is loaned to them.
Textbooks should be scrutinised carefully by LRC staff on return. Learners are not charged for any fair wear and tear that occurs whilst a textbook is issued to them. They are, however, expected to pay the full cost of replacement for any loss or preventable damage such as water damage/stains that occurs whilst a textbook is loaned to them. The same applies to all customers regarding LRC stock. The full replacement cost will be charged for books that have been annotated/highlighted, with the exception of light pencil annotations that are fully erased before return. In cases of genuine financial hardship, this charge may be waived or Learner Support Fund criteria may cover the cost of replacement items on behalf of the student.
Once paid to replace, damaged copies are withdrawn from the LRC catalogue and offered to the borrower to keep. Such books are held in the LRC for a maximum of 12 weeks after which time they are deemed unwanted and disposed of unless a later date for collection has been agreed. College will not pay the cost of posting out such items to borrowers.
Replacement copies may be accepted in lieu of payment at the discretion of the Learning Resources Manager. Such replacements must be without damage, annotations or highlighting and in similar, or better, condition than the item being replaced before the damage identified occurred. In general, such replacements can only be accepted if brought to the LRC before orders for replacement copies have been placed on behalf of the college. Lost or damaged items that have not been paid for or replaced within a reasonable time and following a written notification posted home are invoiced at their full replacement cost plus an additional administration charge of £20.00.
6.0Students Purchasing Recommended Textbooks through College
It is anticipated the current arrangements, below, for students to order and pay for textbooks will be superseded once Wisepay has been introduced.
6.1Order Forms and Communication of Arrangements
The LRC will produce separate 3-ply order forms for A-level and vocational students, as appropriate. These will clearly state the ISBN, price to pay, the RRP and the closing date of the college offer, which will be for a limited period. Where alternative books are offered, for example a 2-year A-level book that is cheaper than purchasing books for each year separately, these will be clearly indicated with the caveat that they should only be bought by those who are sure they will study the subject over both years.
Forms will be distributed to students during and shortly after Welcome Days through the LRC and curriculum areas, as appropriate. Orders will be collated and books ordered after payments have been received. If feasible, stock can be obtained ahead on a sale or return basis, the condition for feasibility usually being that college is bound to keep a minimum of 50% of what has been supplied. Notices on Moodle and via classes will inform students of the process. The advertised process will ensure that second year A-level students who are embarking on a new AS subject in their second year, are able to access the same college offer as the first years, if they wish, since they will not be in college on Welcome Days.
6.2Payments and Bursary Funding
Arrangements will be communicated for students to pay through a variety of methods. The Learning Resources Manager will liaise with Finance to facilitate this, and with Student Services and Finance to ensure students approved for bursary funding for textbooks are appropriately processed through the system to avoid them having to pay, and then be reimbursed. Bursary funded books belong to the college, so students in receipt of these will be asked to hand them back at the end of their course. They will not, however, be penalised if they have annotated them. Bursary funding will not usually be available to cover the cost of a textbook where the same content is provided in e-book format. Exceptions can be agreed on a subject by subject basis, dependent on the justification from the curriculum subject / student. All students approved for bursary funding who are taking the same course will receive the same decision in such circumstances, assuming no other mitigating criteria individually applies.
Once payment has been made, the order form is receipted by staff and the student keeps one copy; the LRC and Finance retain the two remaining copies.
6.3Notification and Collection
The Learning Resources Manager will communicate any delays in supply, due to reprinting / publisher out of stock situations, etc, to the subject area so they can inform students. If LRC copies of a delayed book are available in sufficient quantities for all who are waiting for theirs to arrive, these will be issued in the interim on short term loan.
Students will be advised when their books are ready to collect by SMS text or notices to class / displayed on Moodle. When they collect them, they must show their college ID and sign for what they receive. This process is repeated when any delayed books are collected. Order forms showing collection signatures are retained in the LRC for the duration of each student’s course.
6.4Refunds
Refunds will be offered to students who have paid for books where a free JISC e-book of the same content is subsequently made available prior to the order being placed with the supplier. In such cases, a letter will go home offering the choice to continue with the purchase, or rely solely on the e-book and be refunded. A reasonable period will be given for students to work with the e-book, in order to reach a decision. Refunds are authorised by the Learning Resources Manager and notified to Finance for processing. Refunds will usually be made in the form of a cheque posted out.
Refunds requested for other reasons, e.g. where a student drops a subject or changes course, are considered on a case by case basis and are at the discretion of the Learning Resources Manager. In general, if there is no cost to the college because the order can be cancelled with the supplier or there is an additional request for the same book, refunds will be authorised. They will not usually be authorised where college would incur expense. If a buy-back scheme is operating at the end of the course, such books can be considered under its scope at that time.
7.0Link to induction
Where applicable, the textbook loan / purchase experience forms part of student induction by giving learners the opportunity to follow the process of borrowing from the LRC and communicating resource requirements to LRC staff. Learners are required to produce their appropriate college ID to access all LRC services, including textbooks.
8.0Inspection Copies on Approval
All requests for inspection copies of books/trials of electronic resources on approval from publishers or other suppliers must be submitted to the Learning Resources Manager so they are ordered through the centralised system at the best available terms. In general, college does not order inspection items that cannot be returned free of charge. Staff requesting inspection copies will be notified of any delay in availability, as well as when items arrive. Items that have to be sent back must be returned to the Learning Resources Manager by the date specified to ensure timely completion of the process and that financial penalties are not incurred.