Fall 2025, Resolution Number 113.02
Whereas, Automatic-billing programs, also referred to as “inclusive access” programs, typically charge students a per-unit fee for course materials, regardless of the actual cost of the required resources and often fail to clearly notify students of opt-out options, thereby limiting student choice and creating new financial burdens[1];
Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges opposes the use of automatic-billing strategies that maintain reliance on commercial publishers and encourages colleges to consider the long-term impact of such programs on students[2];
Whereas, As of Fall 2025, at least four California community colleges have adopted automatic-billing programs that charge students a per-unit fee for course materials, even when the cost of the commercial materials is less than the per-unit fee, and often when there are no costs, creating inequities for students; and
Whereas, The 2024 report from the Burden-Free Instructional Materials Task Force, Advancing Equity in Access, Support, and Success through Burden-Free Instructional Materials[3], highlights the importance of fostering equitable access to instructional materials by alleviating financial burdens and ensuring that students have agency in their educational choices, recommending practices that prioritize no-cost materials, and discourage automatic-billing mechanisms that limit transparency and choice;
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges urge the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to advocate for regulatory changes that require automatic-billing programs to be opt-in, provide clear and transparent pricing information, and exclude no-cost course materials from cost calculations.
[1] U.S. PIRG Education Fund. Automatic Textbooks Billing: An Offer Students Can’t Refuse? (K. Vitez, Author). (February 2020). https://studentpirgs.org/assets/uploads/2022/12/USPIRG_Textbook-Automatic-Billing_Feb2020_v3-2.pdf
[2] Resolution F22 17.02 Textbook Automatic Billing Concerns and Resolution F19 09.06 Consider Implications of Publisher-Developed Lower Cost “Inclusive Access” Strategies
[3] Advancing Equity in Access, Support and Success through Burden-Free Instructional Materials