Colleges Urge Education Dept. to Keep Rules Allowing Inclusive Access

Seventy-five administrators and professors from at least 61 institutions are calling on the Education Department in a letter released Wednesday to abandon its current proposal to change how colleges and universities can bill students for books and supplies.

The letter comes after the department wrapped up a second round of negotiations over the proposal and other potential regulatory changes. The department has proposed ending a 2016 policy that allowed colleges and universities to automatically charge students for books and supplies as part of tuition and fees. That change allowed a procurement model known as inclusive access to flourish. 

The representatives of the colleges and universities say in the letter that they were alarmed by the department’s attempt to curb programs like inclusive access. They argue that the programs are “an essential tool for making higher education affordable to a broader range of Americans.”

“We request that you move quickly and decisively to protect and preserve these critically important options for course materials by retaining the current rules,” the letter says. “Given many of the concerns raised during the negotiation sessions, we encourage the department to consider this feedback in its next draft of language during this process.”

Critics of the model argue it’s not transparent, it’s difficult for students to opt out of and it doesn’t lead to cost savings for students. Current regulations require institutions to offer the course materials at below-market rates, but department officials said at last week’s rule-making session that it’s difficult for the agency to determine whether colleges and universities are adhering to that requirement.

While the department’s latest proposal would end institutions’ ability to automatically charge students for books and supplies, negotiators representing institutions last week proposed adding more guardrails to the current rules. Those would include certifying annually that the materials are offered at below-market rates and creating clear requirements for how students can opt out of the programs.

The next and final round of negotiations will kick off March 4.