On Thursday, March 21st at 10 am, the Board of Regents plans to vote on the Automatic Textbook Billing bill and we need students to come speak on their opposition to the opt-out policy. Below is how to sign up to give testimony and a testimony template on what should be said (Thank you Xander Tyler!). Please make sure to email within 24 hours of the meeting. We must get as many students as possible to give testimony to dispel the idea that students are happy with this!!! Email or call me with any questions. This fight is happening now!! Make a change!

Automatic Textbook Billing Information Document TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE TO TESTIFY: Please email Pamela Heleen (heleenp@ct.edu) at least 24 hours prior (by Wednesday at 10am) and request time to speak during public comment. Here’s a sample message:

“Good Morning/Afternoon,

My name is [NAME], I’m a student at [SCHOOL], and I would like to speak about automatic textbook billing at the Board of Regents meeting on March 21st.

Thank you,

[NAME]”

 

Basic Information:

To make up for the impending budget deficit brought on by Governor Lamont’s proposed state budget, the Board of Regents is considering an automatic textbook billing deal with Barnes & Noble. Through this deal, all students will be automatically signed up to pay $18.75 per credit per semester in return for access to all required texts for their classes. For a full 15-credit courseload, this equates to $281.25/semester. Students will be charged the $18.75/credit even for classes which require no texts. This program is opt-out, not opt-in, meaning if students do not wish to pay this charge, they will have to continuously opt out at the beginning of every semester (notoriously a busy time of semester as students adjust to new classes). The BOR has released no data to show the cost-saving per-student, per-major; without this data, we cannot know how this will help or harm students across all majors and programs. This system may work out well for some students, but it will nickel-and-dime students who typically find thriftier ways to procure their required texts (note: please do NOT explicitly mention piracy – we don’t want the BOR to begin looking for ways to curtail such means of procuring cheaper texts), as well as students in classes with no required textbooks/classes that provide open-source texts. This is a new, grimy way of further shifting the burden of funding higher education from the state to students. This deal, if signed into action, will go into effect this fall semester. This deal is set to be signed at a BOR meeting on March 21st. We are fighting to make the deal “opt-in.”

 

 

Petition Against Automatic Textbook Billing at the CSUs: https://www.change.org/p/say-no-to-automatic-textbook-billing-at-the-connecticut-state-universities

 

BOR Finance Committee Slideshow (starting on slide 23, you’ll find the data the Board is using to justify this textbook billing deal under the euphemistic title “Equitable Access Program Proposal”): https://ct-edu.b-cdn.net/files/bor/Final-3.13.24-Finance-Infrastructure-Committee-Agenda2.pdf

 

Skeleton Testimony: Automatic Textbook Billing

Good morning Chancellor Cheng, Chair Ryan, CFO Blanchard, and all the members of the Board:

 

My name is [FULL NAME] and I am a [CLASS STANDING] at Central Connecticut State University [DESCRIBE AREA OF STUDY/ENGAGEMENT ON CAMPUS]. I am here today to oppose Automatic Textbook Billing as outlined in the Board’s proposal.

 

[YOUR PERSONAL STORY; How will automatic textbook billing personally impact you? What is your stake in this fight?]

 

As a student, I want to share with you how automatic textbook billing will harm me and other students in my position:

· Are you in a program where professors often assign open-source (free) texts or that scarcely utilizes textbooks?

· Do you typically buy your textbooks from Barnes & Noble, or do you shop around to find cheaper alternatives?

· Do you worry that the opt-out period is insufficient and you will accidentally be charged for materials you do not need? (Note: you will be charged unless you opt out by the last day of the add/drop period for classes)

· Do you feel it is unfair for this system to be “opt-out” rather than “opt-in”?

· If this deal would benefit you, would you prefer an opt-in mechanism to ensure you do not benefit from a fee that harms others?

 

Students across the CSUs urge you to reconsider this automatic textbook billing deal with Barnes and Noble. While a per-credit fee for course materials may be a prudent financial choice for some students, it would be an unreasonable cost for others. By making this system “opt-out,” you will place an unnecessary burden on students and ensure students are overcharged each semester for materials they did not intend to purchase from Barnes and Noble. If automatic textbook billing is truly intended to promote “equitable access,” the program must be made “opt-in.”

Thank you.