On August 16, 2024, the Minister of Colleges and Universities (MCU) issued a directive on the costs of educational material under the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act and the Strengthening Accountability and Student Supports Act, 2024.

The MCU directive requires all publicly assisted colleges and universities ensure that students are informed of the costs of all textbooks and other learning materials that are mandatory and optional in the course syllabus for each course.

The directive mandates that, at a minimum, the following information is provided to students in the course syllabus, no later than the first week of classes:

• Each textbook or other learning material should be individually costed. In the event that the cost for the current year is not available at the time the syllabus is prepared, the most recent cost should be included with a note indicating that it may change.
• Whether there are any restrictions that would prevent a student from using a second-hand copy of the textbook or other learning material.

The directive notes that these requirements are effective for all courses beginning in January 2025.

Additionally, the directive recommends that:

• Institutions should make students aware of how to find information on ancillary fees and the cost of textbooks and other learning materials.
• No other educational material costs should be added to a course after the distribution of the syllabus in the first week of classes.
• Along with textbook costs, a syllabus should include information about textbook features (e.g., personalized online study tools).
• Faculty should be encouraged to use Open Educational Resources (OER) to help make post-secondary education more affordable for students.

Finally, the directive includes a requirement for the university to provide an annual report to the Board of Trustees on the percentage of courses that have complied with the directive and a plan for how to achieve compliance if the percentage is less than 100%. A copy of this annual report is to be submitted to the MCU as well.

In keeping with this MCU directive, Brock University instructors are directed to ensure that all course syllabi include the required details listed above and are distributed to students no later than the first week of courses.

These requirements apply to all credit-bearing courses, at both undergraduate and graduate levels. This directive does not extend to supplies such as lab coats, calculators, or fine arts supplies.

In order to assist instructors in meeting this new directive, the Centre for Pedagogical Information, the Library, and the Campus Store have created a set of resources and recommendations below.

Order course materials through the Campus Store

• Course Materials can be adopted through the Campus Store (which has a price matching program) at Order Course Materials.
• Course Materials must be submitted by the following deadlines:
  • Fall semester deadline: June 1
  • Winter semester deadline: November 1
  • Spring semester deadline: March 1
  • Summer semester deadline: May 1
• Late hire instructors/professors can still submit their adoption after the deadline, and the Campus Store will work with these cases to provide direction and support if necessary.
• The Campus Store will reach out to each instructor with links to their course materials on the Campus Store website. This link will show up-to-date pricing for the course material as it changes (depending on invoicing and market changes).
• Questions regarding course material submissions can be sent to adoptions@brocku.ca

Note: Instructors who do not take advantage of the option to order course materials through the Campus Store will be responsible for providing the required details, including individual costing of course materials.

Use the updated syllabus template provided by the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation

• The syllabus template is available at: https://brocku.ca/pedagogical-innovation/syllabus-template/
• This template has been updated to reflect the requirements of the MCU directive, and now includes a link to the Campus Store’s individualized list of itemized and costed course materials

Note: Instructors who do not take advantage of the option to use this syllabus template will be responsible for ensuring that all the necessary details are provided in the syllabus

Share the course syllabus with students using the new Syllabus widget in Brightspace and/or add their syllabus to a unit in the Content tool called “syllabus”.

• • This will ensure consistency and predictability for students while also facilitating automated collection of syllabus files for compliance auditing and report to the Board and the Ministry.
  • This new Syllabus widget will be enabled in Brightspace and begin appearing on December 9, 2024.

Note: Instructors who do not take advantage of the new syllabus widget in Brightspace will need to make their own arrangements to deposit their syllabus with the appropriate Dean, in keeping with FHB III A.10.1.3

Consider the use of open educational resources (OER)

• Instructors who wish to consider the use of OER in their courses should visit the Library’s webpage for OER Services, which includes information about the university’s OER Grant programs