The landscape for course content affordability issues at UC Berkeley & peer institutions; What campus-wide efforts are being undertaken; Initiatives, resources, and services instructors and students can rely on to help limit costs

1. “I can’t afford your class”
AFFORDABLE COURSE CONTENT @UC BERKELEY
Rachael Samberg, J.D., M.L.I.S.
Scholarly Communication Officer

2. 1.
Textbooks

3. “ I could have paid rent for the same
price as one semester of textbooks.
I can’t enroll in as many classes,
because I can’t afford all my books.
K.U. OA initiatives https://provost.ku.edu/strong-ties/20170306

4. Prices have risen
88% in past decade
▪ Often at least $200
▪ $1200/year
▪ Other institutions
▫ 63-66% have foregone purchase
▫ 35% taken fewer classes
▫ 14% dropped classes due to costs

5. Library has some e-textbooks

6. Open textbooks are online

7. What are open textbooks?
Open Educational Resources (OERs)
▪ Published under a Creative Commons license
▪ Can be fully used, shared and adapted
▪ Can be peer-reviewed
▪ Can be printed like “traditional” textbook
▪ Guide to help you find them

8. Potential Pedagogical Benefits
▪ No detriment, often improvement in performance
▪ Students can participate in content creation
▪ Multimedia innovation

9. 2.
Course Packs

10. Either in addition to textbooks
or created in lieu of
▪ Created by 3rd party vendors
▪ Vendor secures © permissions
▪ Passes on cost of © permissions + copying

11. Packs can help with savings
but some $$ unnecessary
▪ Could have been fair use to copy
▪ Could have been in public domain
▪ Could have already been licensed by library

12. Public
would pay

13. Library has
subscriptions

14. We can help with savings
for print packs

15. We provide
copyright guidance
If Instructor’s answer to any ques0on is “yes”:
If Instructor’s answer to all ques0ons is “no,” two op0ons:
Material can be
posted directly
to bCourse site
(though link always
possible/
preferable)
Post link to
content,
rather than
content,
itself
If link can’t be
found, or
Instructor prefers
pos0ng copies,
request copyright
holder’s
permission
OR
Copyright Workflow for Pos7ng to bCourses
Instructor Makes Decision About Content to Be Posted.
1. Has permission or a license already been conferred?
2. Is the material in the public domain?
3. Is it fair use?
4. Is use subject to another excep7on (e.g. Teach Act)?
Ques0ons? hGp://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/instructor-copyright-bcourses
http://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/
instructor-copyright-bcourses

16. http://guides.lib.
berkeley.edu/
affordable-resources
Guide to
the free

17. Result of status quo
for students
$$ $

18. Social justice issue
▪ Students do
better if they can
afford readings
▪ Students with
immediate access
perform better
▪ Food insecurity
competes with
content costs
Business
Finance
Economy

19. Intersection with
Accessibility
• Library-licensed e-versions often remediated
• Same with OERs

20. What are we doing?
Informal working group
Library, CTL, ETS, ASUC

21. Charter for pilot
projects
1. Course pack processing
2. Grants for eBooks

22. 1. Course Pack
Processing
Library will process your
syllabus.
We will go through required
readings to locate copies of
open, free, or Library-
licensed versions of
assigned readings.
Links or PDFs

23. 2. Grants for
eBooks
$500 to $5,000 to switch to
electronic version of textbook
or equivalent eBook(s).
Higher grants awarded for
designing your own open and
electronic course materials.
Programmatic support
provided to help in the switch.

24. Grants to create or
adopt eBooks or OERs

25. Sample savings at
U. Mass Amherst
• $101,500 invested
• $1.6 million in textbook costs saved
• 60 faculty in 100 classes

26. ▪ Education, input, & buy-in
▪ Surveys assessing scope @Berkeley
▪ Relationship with the bookstore
Campus Needs

27. Thanks
!!
Questions?
rsamberg@berkeley.edu
http://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/
affordable-resources