1. You Get What You Don’t Pay For: An Introduction to Open Textbooks
Josh Cromwell, University Libraries
October 4, 2016

2. Road Map Introduction What are Open Textbooks/OER? Why Open Textbooks?
Case Study and Examples
Intro to the Open Textbook Initiative
Q&A

3. Introduction

4. What are Open Textbooks?
Textbooks or other course materials that are free to use and reuse
Composed of resources that are Open Access, public domain, or licensed but free to students (e.g. library resources)
Created electronically but often print-friendly
Print-on-demand option
Can be in the form of textbooks or more like course packs
OA and PD preferred – easier to reuse
Library resources should be linked using EZproxy URL
Don’t have to be printable, but is often better if they are – some students prefer print
Some schools offer POD for a small fee for students who want print

5. Why Open Textbooks? Beneficial for students No cost for students
Avg. cost per semester using traditional textbooks: $600-$1200
Many students can’t afford traditional textbooks
Frequently improve student performance/retention
US Bureau of Labor Statistics: College textbook costs increased 88% between 2006 and 2016
Textbook costs: National Association of College Stores - $600; College Board - $1,200
Student PIRGs research: 65% of students didn’t buy a textbook because of cost
Of this group, 94% expected it to negatively affect their performance in the course
OER have unlimited concurrent users – most e-texts or textbook reserves do not
Journal of Computing in Higher Education study: Survey across nine universities & community colleges found equal or better performance from students in courses w/OER in almost all cases

6. Why Open Textbooks? (cont’d)
Beneficial for Faculty
Can be adapted to course objectives
Gives assurance that all students have access to the same material
Easier to refine/adapt
Broader impact
Beneficial for the University
Recruitment tool
Promotes student success
For faculty:
More flexibility with OA textbook – traditional texts often more generic and not as specific to individual instructors
Some faculty hesitant to use textbook assignments because not all students can afford books
If faculty notice a deficiency with an open textbook, they can change it, even if they aren’t the author
For university:
Students more likely to attend if costs are lower thanks to free textbooks
JCHE study: Students in classes with OER enrolled in more credit hours the next semester

7. A Case Study (Or: “I Was Told There’d Be No Math!”)
At Southern Miss in …
7731 students awarded need-based financial aid
On average, this aid met 67% of student need
Tuition for in-state full time student was $3490
Room and board was $4305
Average textbook cost was $1000
Avg. cost for a full-time in-state undergraduate living on campus: $8795
If aid covers 67% of need, student would owe $
Without textbook fees, this drops to $
Aid would now cover 78% of student expenses rather than 67%
Data taken from the Common Data Sets on USM Institutional Research website and from academic bulletin

8. What About the Bookstore?
Many students already forego the bookstore
Textbook rentals, used copies from Amazon, etc.
Textbook margins are minimal
“As Textbooks Go Digital, Campus Bookstores May Go Bookless,” Chronicle of Higher Education, 14 November 2010
“’…the margin on textbooks is one of the lowest margins around.’ In terms of profit margin, [the bookstore] does better selling chips.”
OER still a very small portion of the marketplace
Many students buy cheaper copies from Amazon, etc. or don’t buy book at all
UMass Amherst example: Amazon partnered with university. Students buy/rent books online from Amazon, books are shipped overnight to campus pickup location for free, university gets a percentage of all sales
Quote from Chronicle article: Bookstores at colleges already make far more profit on college-themed merchandise and on food and other convenience-store fare than on books. Textbooks may have high prices, but store managers say they see little of that money.
"We get a lot of bad press—the mean old nasty money-grubbing bookstore," says Ms. Hale, of Bellingham Technical College. "But the margin on textbooks is one of the lowest margins around." In terms of profit margin, she does better selling chips.

9. Examples of OER Programs
UMass Amherst
Open Education Initiative
Portland State University
PDXOpen
University of Mississippi
Hewlett Foundation grants
Open Education Initiative: Just completed sixth cycle and has saved students $1.3 million in textbook costs
Faculty submit proposals and apply for small grants to implement OER in their courses
PDXOpen: accepts ongoing proposals, hosts texts in the IR
Multimedia textbooks
Ole Miss: grants to encourage faculty to adopt OER; includes training session
Goal is to create pathway to degree using only OER

10. Open Textbook Initiative
Opportunity for faculty to apply for funding to assist with creating or implementing an open textbook
Application opens at the end of October
Three tiers:
Adopt ($400)
Modify ($800)
Create ($1600)
Recipients notified by end of the calendar year
Eligibility criteria available online
Application process will run for about a month (until early December)
Adopt: Implement an existing open textbook
Modify: Build a textbook out of existing books, library resources, original materials, etc.
Create: Write your own open textbook

11. Open Textbook Initiative (cont’d)
Other elements of the program
Copyright and technology training
Partnering with a research librarian who can assist with identifying resources
Rough timeline of benchmarks for completing the program
Participants writing their own open textbook may host them on Aquila
Recipients must complete the program by the start of the Fall 2017 semester
Copyright training (Libraries)
Exceptions to the timeline may be considered for courses only offered in the spring

12. For More Information Presentations Examples
Sarah Mangrum & Elizabeth La Beaud, “Copyright, Publishing, and Open Access: What You Need to Know”
Marilyn Billings, “The Open Education Initiative at UMass Amherst: Seeking Alternatives to High-Cost Textbooks”
Examples
Open Education Initiative (UMass Amherst)
PDXOpen (Portland State)

13. For More Information Upcoming Events Reports Open Textbook Initiative
Michele Frasier-Robinson and Anne Hudson, “OER Building Blocks: Identifying Resources for Open Textbooks”
Panel Discussion, “Open Textbooks: Experiences and Perspectives”
Reports
Ethan Senack, “Open Textbooks: The Billion-Dollar Solution”
Open Textbook Initiative
Program overview
Open Textbook Initiative form is for last year, but the description of the program is the same
Student PIRGs (Public Interest Research Groups) are a leading advocate for OER from a student standpoint

14. Questions?
Josh Cromwell Institutional Repository Coordinator University Libraries Phone: Website: