Open Textbooks - A Step Toward Affordability

Open Textbooks
A Step Toward Affordability
Nicole Allen The Student PIRGs [email_address] May 12, 2010

The Problem

The Problem
Students spend
$900
per year

The Problem
Prices rising
4x
inflation

The Problem High Prices $238.95 only

The Problem new 6 th $213.95 New Editions used 5th edition $81.78

The Problem Costly Bundles $213.95 with CengageNOW, Personal Tutor with SMARTHINKING, InfoTrac 2-Semester Printed Access Card Biology, 8e

The Problem
Part 1:
Flawed market structure gives publishers too much power
Producer Consumer

The Problem
Part 1:
Flawed market structure gives publishers too much power
Publisher Student Professor

The Problem
Part 2:
Self-destructive business model drives publisher market abuses
Students Bookstore Publisher Textbooks are bought and sold several times, but the publisher only profits on the first sale used books

The Problem
We need a solution that will:
Make the market more student-centric, without undermining faculty
Rework publishing models to be more efficient and sustainable

Open Textbooks

Open Textbooks
Like regular textbooks:
Table of contents, chapters, index
Written by expert author
Edited and reviewed

Open Textbooks
Beyond regular textbooks:
Accessible free online by the public
Downloadable, typically as a PDF
Available in print

Open Textbooks  Open?

Open Textbooks Open?
“ Open” = Open License

Open Textbooks Open?
Some Rights Reserved
©

Open Textbooks
For most open textbooks…
Rights you get:
Access at no cost
Make copies
Distribute copies
Customize copies
… forever
Rights you don’t:
Attribution
And sometimes…
Commercial use
Customize & re-license

Open Textbooks
Benefits for faculty:
All students have access
New editions are optional
Ability to customize
say new editions are justified half the time or less. 76% of faculty

Open Textbooks
Benefits for students:
Online access is free
Other formats are fairly priced (PDF, print, etc.)
Flexibility to use their preferred format
Students show a strong preference for print as their primary format. 75% Print 25% Digital

Open Textbooks
Benefits for publishers:
Digital and print-on-demand distribution is more efficient
Circumvents two major challenges - the used book death spiral and piracy

Open Textbook Models

1. Individual authors
Personal motivations
Sabbatical time/grant funding
Count open textbooks toward tenure?
A First Course in Linear Algebra By Robert A. Beezer http://linear.ups.edu PDF: FREE Online: FREE Print: $27.95

2. Institutions
A consortium of 80+ community colleges is pooling resources to write and review texts
Rice University founded CNX.org, a platform that hosts open textbooks
Collaborative Statistics By B. Illowsky & S. Dean cnx.org/content/col10522 PDF: FREE Online: FREE Print: $31.98

3. Government funding
A new bill introduced by Sen. Durbin (D-IL) would create a federal grant program to create open textbooks through the NSF
The WA community college system received state funding to create open curriculum & texts for the 80 highest enrollment courses.

4. Publishers
The first publisher of open textbooks is Flat World Knowledge. They launched their first titles in spring 2009, and now are adopted at more than 400 schools.
Organizational Behavior By T. Bauer & B. Erdogan flatworldknowledge.com Online: FREE PDF: $24.99 Print: $29.99

Open: A Solution

Open: A Solution Publisher Student Professor Flawed Market Part 1: Make the market more student-centric, without undermining faculty

Open: A Solution Open Textbooks Part 1: Make the market more student-centric, without undermining faculty  Publisher Student Professor

Open: A Solution Flawed Model Part 2: Rework publishing models to be more efficient and sustainable Students Bookstore Publisher Textbooks are bought and sold several times, but the publisher only profits on the first sale used books

Open: A Solution Open Textbooks Part 2: Rework publishing models to be more efficient and sustainable  Students Bookstore Publisher The normal supply chain is restored & publishers gain the opportunity to sell directly to students

What You Can Do

What You Can Do FACULTY can seek & consider open textbooks, and use other cost reducing practices. More information here: studentpirgs.org/textbooks/take-action

What You Can Do STUDENTS can speak to their professors and encourage them to consider open textbooks. More information here: studentpirgs.org/textbooks/take-action

What You Can Do COLLEGES can offer support to faculty interested in adopting or writing open textbooks. More information here: studentpirgs.org/textbooks/take-action

What You Can Do AUTHORS can show preference for publishers using alternative models, like open textbooks. More information here: studentpirgs.org/textbooks/take-action

Open Textbooks
A Step Toward Affordability
Nicole Allen The Student PIRGs [email_address] May 12, 2010

Open Textbooks - A Step Toward Affordability

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