The biggest hurdle for potential college students isn’t scholarships—it's textbooks. Costing on average $1200 per year, an entire generation is foregoing higher education. Five years ago, a like-minded group from Rice University decided to do something about it. Now in 40% of all colleges and universities, OpenStax has saved students over $195 million dollars since 2012. At the August 9th networking luncheon, hear Daniel Williamson, OpenStax Managing Director, and Dani Nicholson, OpenStax Director of Marketing and Communications, share how this non-profit is changing the future of education.

1. OpenStax
Access. The future of education.
Presented by: Daniel Williamson, Managing Director and Dani Nicholson, Director of Marketing and Communications

2. Dani
Nicholson
Daniel
Williamson
Daniel Williamson,
Managing Director
@new_edu
Dani Nicholson,
Director of Marketing
and Communications
@openstax

4. Nationalstatistics
37%
of americans
under 30 who
didn’t attend
college say it was
due to cost
43%
of students who
attended college
but dropped out
pointed to cost
as a reason
89%
increase in
tuition costs
since 2002
$1.4 tril
student loan debt in
the US is now about
$1.4 trillion greater
than all other forms
of consumer debt
other than
mortgages
21.9 hr
students would
have to work 21.9
hours per day
over the summer
to cover average
college costs.

5. For many economically disadvantaged
students, this is a significant cost,
anywhere from $600-$1200 per
semester.
One of the
major
barriersis
textbooks.

6. Bookstore
s
Professor
s
Publisher
s
Student
s
Why are
they so
expensive?

7. HoustonCommunity
College students
pay $208 in tuition
and fees for a three
credit hourcourse.

8. Went to major
philanthropic
foundations witha
radicalidea:
create textbooks similar to
leading and give them away
for free.

9. Access. The future of education.
openstax.org

10. OpenStaximpact
3.4 mil
students have
used OpenStax
textbooks since 2012
$342 mil
OpenStax textbooks
have saved students
a total of $332 million
since 2012
4,200
institutions
have adopted
OpenStax textbooks
since 2012
29
OpenStax has
published 29 textbooks
since 2012

11. OpenStaximpact
3.4 mil
students have
used OpenStax
textbooks since 2012
$342 mil
OpenStax textbooks
have saved students
a total of $332 million
since 2012
4,200
institutions
have adopted
OpenStax textbooks
since 2012
29
OpenStax has
published 29 textbooks
since 2012
3.4 million
students
fiscal year
2017
0 students
fiscal year
2012

12. How did
we doit?
They’re generic
textbooks, and "free"
isn’t impressive to
professors, our
target market.
Professors care about quality first, then price.
…But many professors saw their students
struggling to afford basic necessities.
They used expensive course materials because
there were few other options.

13. Mystudentsshouldn’thave
to choose between buyingtextbooks
and buyinggroceries.
“
”BinnurErcem
Middlesex CommunityCollege

14. Mission
before
features
By adopting OpenStax, professors can make a
difference and help solve a significant problem

15. Free access on day one means
fewer dropouts and
more graduates
“
”Email campaign
Warm contacts

16. Get student feedback, evaluate the
content, and take your time
determining if it’s a good fit for
your course.
“
”Email campaign
Warm contacts

17. Our textbooks are not only free,
but peer-reviewed and openly
licensed, allowing you and your
students to use the books however
you see fit.
“
”Email campaign
Warm contacts

18. We all need
heroes
We developed a core
group of advocates
that speak on behalf of
OpenStax.
Professors are also aware that students tend to do
better to courses when they have access to the
required course materials. (Seems like a no brainer,
but this is academia!)
Many professors saw their students struggling to
afford basic necessities and they were were aching
for a solution. They used expensive course materials
because it was either that or create their own.

21. Leveraging
partnerships
60+ partnerships with online homework companies,
custom printers, and other additional resource
providers

22. An information
revolution
With free and openly licensed information, we can
power adaptive learning tools, develop new
pedagogical practices
Allow for greater choice and price competition in the
market
Build communities of practice
Allow for content localization
Move beyond the textbook—video, personalized
learning
Free is great, but the
open license is the key
to innovation

23. Get involved—vote!
http://bit.ly/goOpenStax

24. Thankyou.
For more information
visit OpenStax.org
Presented by: Daniel Williamson, Managing Director and Dani Nicholson, Director of Marketing and Communications