Help lower textbook costs for students
Posted by Monte Maxwell.January 8th, 2019
Did you know?
- The cost of textbooks is rising at a rate of four times inflation.
- Sixty percent of students have delayed purchasing textbooks until they’ve received their financial aid.
- Seventy percent don’t purchase a required textbook during their academic career because of cost.
Are you an instructor who is concerned about the impact of high textbook costs for your students’ academic success?
You can help by attending the Open Textbook Workshop and Textbook Review where you can discover open textbooks in your field. After the workshop, you will be asked to write a short review of an open textbook. Your review will benefit other faculty considering open textbooks. You’ll receive a $200 stipend for your participation and a written review. The workshop will be held March 7 at 10 a.m. in Downtown Campus Library, Room 104. Librarians Hilary Fredette and Martha Yancey will lead the workshop.
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 and can be authoritatively verified, adopted by many faculty across the country, and licensed to be freely used, edited, and distributed.
Complete an application here by Feb. 27. Capacity is limited and open textbooks are not available for all subjects. Preference is based on textbook subject availability.
If you have questions about this workshop or open textbooks, contact Martha Yancey, chair of the WVU Libraries Open Educational Resources Committee, at 304.293.5039 or martha.yancey@mail.wvu.edu. For more information visit the open textbook webpage on the Libraries website.