Alamo Colleges trustees OK new approach to textbooks

SAN ANTONIO — Alamo Colleges trustees have approved a controversial approach to instructional materials that aims to bring down the cost of textbooks for students and move toward electronic formats and open source materials.

Trustees voted 8-1 to approve the strategy Tuesday. The board also unanimously authorized establishing six new early-college high schools to begin fall 2014 in partnership with nine area school districts and one charter school. They are: Harlandale, San Antonio, Seguin and Southside independent school districts; New Frontiers Charter School and a cluster of districts including Somerset, Southwest, Poteet, Lytle and Jourdanton ISDs.

The textbook strategy calls for identifying the most effective instructional materials, which eventually could be adopted across all five Alamo Colleges. Students' tuition and fees will pay for electronic materials so that they have them before classes begin, according to board documents.

Faculty leaders say they also want students to have their books by the first day of classes but think the new process will restrict students' purchasing options and limit educational diversity.

Trustee Anna Bustamante voted against the proposal, raising concerns about the availability of Wi-Fi and adding another expense.

“I just have a problem with requiring students to pay when they may not want to have that expense,” she said. “That doesn't feel good to me.”

Thomas Cleary, a vice chancellor who oversees technology, said Wi-Fi is available in Alamo Colleges buildings and the district is expanding it to high-traffic areas outside.

Each college already has one set of instructional materials per course. Jo-Carol Fabianke, the vice chancellor for academic success, said the new strategy will start by evaluating materials for high-enrollment courses.

For instance, in English 1301, each of the colleges might have their own sets of instructional materials from various publishers for the fall 2014 semester, Fabianke said, but in the future, faculty members will work with the publishers to determine if additional electronic resources are available. After test-driving those resources, they'll evaluate the materials and the results, such as student engagement and persistence.

“We want the faculty to do the analysis ... to determine if there are some materials that are better than others and are economical for students,” she said.

If the evaluation bears fruit, some courses could move to a single set of instructional materials across all colleges by fall 2015, Fabianke said.

jlloyd@express-news.net

Twitter: @jlloydster