7. @txtbks | sparc.arl.org
Figure 1: Estimated Increases in New College Textbook Prices, College Tuition and
Fees, and Overall Consumer Price Inflation, 2002 to 2012
prices grew by 28 percent.
22. @txtbks | sparc.arl.org
Market Failure
5 major
publishers hold
nearly 90% of
the market
Source: Turning the Page by James Koch
23. @txtbks | sparc.arl.org
“less than one third of students
believed that using e-textbooks
significantly improved their
learning or engagement in a
course”
Market Failure
Source: EDUCAUSE
26. @txtbks | sparc.arl.org
2 in 3
Students say they decided against
buying a textbook because the cost is
too high
Source: Student PIRGs
27. @txtbks | sparc.arl.org
1 in 2
Students say they have at some point
taken fewer courses due to the cost of
textbooks
Source: Florida Virtual Campus
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<1 in 2
Students purchase a current
edition of their textbook
Source: Book Industry Study Group
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Hewlett Foundation Definition:
“OER are teaching, learning, and
research resources that reside in the
public domain or are released under an
intellectual property license that permits
their free use and repurposing by
others”
33. @txtbks | sparc.arl.org
Hewlett Foundation Definition:
“OER are teaching, learning, and
research resources that reside in the
public domain or are released under an
intellectual property license that permits
their free use and repurposing by
others”
54. @txtbks | sparc.arl.org
Supporting Adoption
Developmental Math Results"
Percentage passing with C or better
48.40%
60.18%
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
Spring 2011
No OER
Spring 2013
All OER
n=2,842
About Lumen Lear
Open Educational Resources represent a
and learners, while at the same time imp
unsure what to do to help their institution
This is where Lumen enters the picture.
Co-founded by open education visionary
Lumen is dedicated to facilitating broad,
After years of pioneering work in open ed
Generation Learning Challenges grant-fu
textbooks with OER in community colleg
50% and improving student success rate
resulted in moving the cost of required te
10% compared to student performance in
You can read more about the Kaleidosco
Adding this concrete proof to the body of
help more educational institutions and st
Lumen helps institutional leaders and fac
! Finding quality content and mapp
around the country to review and agg
into Open Courses that match gener
course frameworks online. This proc
individual or institution to download a
! Incorporating OER into academic
consulting services to help institution
sense to introduce OER into courses
Source: Lumen Learning
55. @txtbks | sparc.arl.org
The cost of college textbooks has risen 812% since 1978, more
than the rates of inflation, health care, new home prices, and
college tuition.
More and more, college students are unable to afford their
textbooks, and as many as 70% of students have reported
avoiding buying at least one textbook for their courses. Not
surprisingly, these students do not do as well academically.
As of May 2013, if a TCC student purchased all of the textbooks
required for a business administration degree, that student would
spend $3,678.95 on new books. While used textbooks may lower
this price, their availability is, at best, uneven.
But the problem with printed textbooks goes beyond financial cost; textbooks “ cost” students and teachers
in other ways as well.
Because textbooks are frequently written for broad audiences in the hopes that they will fill the learning
support needs and be adopted by large numbers of faculty and departments, they are filled with content
and exercises that are superfluous to a specific course’ s learning outcomes. The cost here is in teaching
efficiency and effectiveness.
Fortunately a solution to both problems exists.
Beginning in Fall 2013, TCC became the first college in the U.S. to create an Associate of Science degree
based solely on open educational resources (OER), academically vetted and publicly licensed content. After
Tidewater CommunityCollege
ismakingcollegemoreaffordable.
62. @txtbks | sparc.arl.org
• Grants for campus pilot programs
for the creation, use,
improvement of OER
• Sponsored by Sen. Durbin, Rep.
Hinojosa
• Scheduled for reintroduction
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• Call for White House to adopt
policy to make federally funded
educational resources openly
licensed
• 100 orgs including NAGPS!
• Builds on existing open policies
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• Ask: Co-sponsor Affordable College
Textbook Act when introduced
• Ask: Support OER in Higher Education
Act Reauthorization
• Ask: Make sure that federally funded
resources are openly licensed
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• Textbook costs/limitations are a real problem
(your personal story)
• The market is broken and not working for
students
• Time to harness technology to reduce costs
and make materials better
• Open Educational Resources
• Free to read online
• Flexible to adapt and share
• Students learn as well or better
67. @txtbks | sparc.arl.org
• Affordable College Textbook Act would create
a federally funded grant program to support
OER pilot programs
• Accelerates adoption and creation of OER
• Reduces cost of education
• Creates opportunities to improve teaching