WVU Libraries

Are you an instructor who is concerned about the impact of high textbook costs on your students? Explore a possible solution – open textbooks – by attending a two-hour workshop and writing a short textbook review on a textbook in your field. Receive a $200 stipend for your efforts.

Did You Know?

• The high cost of some course materials can impede students’ academic success.
• The College Board estimates that the average undergraduate paid $1,225 for textbooks and supplies in 2014–15.
• The cost of textbooks is rising at a rate of 4 times inflation.
• Seven out of 10 students don’t purchase a required textbook during their academic career because of cost.
• 60% of students have delayed purchasing textbooks until they’ve received their financial aid.

Open textbooks can help alleviate the burden of textbook costs for students and provide faculty with content that can be customized for their course. Open textbooks are complete, real textbooks, used by many faculty across the country, and licensed to be freely used, edited, and distributed.

What you can do

Attend the Open Textbook Workshop to learn about open textbooks in your field. After the workshop, you’ll be asked to write a short review of an open textbook. Your review will benefit other faculty considering open textbooks, and you will receive a $200 stipend for your participation and written review.

What: Open Textbook Workshop and Textbook Review

Where: Downtown Campus Library, Room 104

When: Wednesday, Sept. 7, from 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Who: The workshop will be led by David Ernst, creator of the University of Minnesota’s Open Textbook Library, and Sarah Cohen, managing director of the Open Textbook Network.

Take five minutes to apply by Friday, Sept. 2. Capacity is limited and open textbooks aren’t available for all subjects. Preference will be based on textbook subject area availability.

If you have questions about this workshop or open textbooks, please contact Genifer Snipes, chair of the WVU Libraries Open Ed Resources Committee, at 304-293-4240 or genifer.snipes@mail.wvu.edu.

This workshop is sponsored by WVU Libraries.