Registration deadline Friday for Open Textbook Workshop
Posted by Monte Maxwell.March 2nd, 2023
Are you an instructor who is concerned about the impact of high textbook costs for your students’ academic success? WVU Libraries will host a virtual Open Textbook Workshop and Textbook Review on March 9 at 10 a.m. that will help instructors explore possible open textbook solutions to this growing financial issue.
Click here to complete an application. Registration deadline is Friday.
The College Board estimated that the average undergraduate could spend more than $1,200 for textbooks for the 2022-2023 academic year. Over the past few years, 60 percent of students surveyed said they delayed purchasing textbooks until they received their financial aid and 70 percent chose not to purchase a required textbook because of cost, according to the Open Education Network, a group that studies how the high cost of course materials impede students’ academic success.
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 authoritative, adopted by many faculty across the country and licensed to be freely used, edited, and distributed.
The one-hour virtual session will help instructors learn more about open textbooks available in their field and how to incorporate them into their curriculum. WVU Librarians Hilary Fredette and Martha Yancey, the Libraries’ Open Educational Resources Committee chair, will lead the workshop.
After the workshop, there will be an opportunity to write a short review of an open textbook, which will benefit other faculty considering adopting open textbooks. A $200 stipend will be awarded for participation and a written review.
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, please contact Yancey at 304-293-5039 or Martha.Yancey@mail.wvu.edu. You can also visit the open textbook webpage, library.wvu.edu/initiatives/oer.