Open Textbooks: A Step Toward Affordability

Open Textbooks
A Step Toward Affordability
Nicole Allen
The Student PIRGs
nicole@studentpirgs.org
May 12, 2010

The Problem

The Problem
Students spend
$900
per year

The Problem
Prices rising
4x
inflation

The Problem
only
$238.95
High
Prices

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

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

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
Publisher
Textbooks are bought and sold several times, but the publisher only profits on the first sale
Bookstore
used books
Students

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
76%of faculty
say new editions are justified half the time or less.

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

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

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

Collaborative Statistics
By B. Illowsky & S. Dean
cnx.org/content/col10522
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
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.

Organizational Behavior
By T. Bauer & B. Erdogan
flatworldknowledge.com
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.
Online: FREE
PDF: $24.99
Print: $29.99

Open: A Solution

Open: A Solution
Flawed Market
Part 1:
Publisher
Student
Professor

Open: A Solution
Publisher
Student
Professor
P
Open Textbooks
Part 1:

Open: A Solution
Publisher
Textbooks are bought
and sold several times, but the publisher only profits on the first sale
Bookstore
used books
Students
Flawed Model
Part 2:

Open: A Solution
Publisher
The normal supply chain is restored & publishers gain the opportunity to sell directly to students
Bookstore
Students
P
Open Textbooks
Part 2:

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.

What You Can Do
COLLEGES can offer support to faculty interested in adopting or writing open textbooks.

What You Can Do
AUTHORS can show preference for publishers using alternative models, like open textbooks.

Open Textbooks
A Step Toward Affordability
Nicole Allen
The Student PIRGs
nicole@studentpirgs.org
May 12, 2010

Open Textbooks: A Step Toward Affordability

by Cable Green on May 12, 2010

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

2 Embeds 19

Statistics

Open Textbooks: A Step Toward Affordability — Presentation Transcript

http://www.slideshare.net	11
http://blog.xplana.com	8