Slides for workshop on open textbook adoption in Ireland, as part of the UK Open Textbook Project. Adapted from work by David Ernst, University of Minnesota.

1. Adapted from work by David Ernst, University of Minnesota
Open Textbooks
Access, Affordability and Academic Success
B. de los Arcos, PhD
The Open University, UK
@celTatis
PhotobyRichardSmith,CCBY2.0https://flic.kr/p/HNkhgq

2. “…higher education
shall be equally
accessible to all.”

3. $2,000
$3,000
$4,000
$5,000
$6,000
$7,000
$8,000
$9,000
$10,000
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
US Higher Education Funding - $/FTE
State Funding Tuition Revenue
http://www.sheeo.org

4. 0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10000
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Tuition fee and HEFCE funding in England 1996-2018
Tuition Fee HEFCE UoR

5. Tuition fees and funding in Ireland
Source: http://usi.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FINAL-FINAL-USI-Position-Paper-on-the-Funding-of-Higher-Education-2016.pdf

6. 20%
of all UK students who start
a degree course will not
complete it
https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/performance-indicators/non-continuation-summary

7. Source: http://hea.ie/assets/uploads/2017/06/A-STUDY-OF-PROGRESSION-IN-IRISH-HIGHER-EDUCATION.pdf
Non-progression rates in Ireland

8. Current UK students, on average, will owe more than
£50,000
in fee and maintenance loans upon graduation
(Principal only)
https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/9334

9. Source:https://www.rte.ie/news/education/2017/1101/916770-college-fees/quoting
NationalStudentFeeandSupportSystemsinEuropeanHigherEducation2017-2018

10. “A survey of medical students in UCC reveals that 26% of direct entry
medicine (DEM) students and 61% graduate entrants (GEM) have a
loan with an anticipated average debt of 17,300 and 80,000 on
graduation respectively.” (Haugh, Doyle & O'Flynn, 2014).

11. What can we do?
• Fees
• Room and board
• Books and supplies
• Personal expenses
• Transportation

12. What can we do?
• Fees
• Room and Board
• Books and supplies
• Personal Expenses
• Transportation

13. A 2010 NUS survey
indicates that the average
UK student will spend
around
£1000
on books during their
studies.
https://www.nus.org.uk/en/advice/money-and-funding/average-costs-of-living-and-study/

14. Source: https://lovindublin.com/sponsored/bad-news-for-purveyors-of-education-this-is-what-it-cost-to-go-to-college-back-in-1996

15. “Some of the course textbooks
can be over €50 and I really
can’t afford to buy them on top
of everything else. I’d rather
borrow from friends or
photocopy pages than spend
that much money on a book that
I’ll only be using for one
semester”
Photo by Wesley Fryer, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/5SKqpZ
Source: http://collegetribune.ie/irish-students-estimated-to-spend-e11000-in-college-expenses-this-year/

16. “People always say college
isn’t cheap, but when you
add fees, the cost of books
that you’ll use once, maybe
twice, you don’t have much
spending money.”
Source: http://collegetribune.ie/irish-students-estimated-to-spend-e11000-in-college-expenses-this-year/
PhotobyMarquetteLaForest,CCBY-NC-ND2.0https://flic.kr/p/7shvQr
“I had a seasonal job
coming up to exams and
don’t think I’d be able to
keep it up throughout the
year without my grades
suffering.”

17. What do you think about the cost of textbooks?

18. “Due to caring responsibilities at home, most of
my study is done at home in the evening, when
my children are in bed. Therefore I cannot use
the university library to study.”
“Material changes every year so it’s difficult to
find useful second hand copies.”
“There are more recommended reading books
than I can afford to buy or have time to read.”
“They are extremely useful, but expensive
considering the fact that we pay £9000 tuition
fees.”
“When 6 subjects have 5-10 books on the
‘suggested reading’ list, it becomes impossible
to obtain all of them.”
“Text books are ridiculously priced. They are
aimed at students but are completely out of their
price range. £100 for one book!”
Quotes from UWE students
Rolfe, V. Could open textbooks improve the experience of all students?

19. Coping with the cost
• Purchase an older edition of the textbook
• Delay purchasing the textbook
• Never purchase the textbook
• Share the textbook with other students, either directly or
via the library
• Download textbooks from the internet

20. –U of MN student
"I figured French hadn't changed
that much.”

21. Have you ever delayed purchasing a textbook
because of cost?

22. 7/10
students surveyed hadn’t bought a required
textbook due to cost
http://www.slideshare.net/txtbks/open-education-and-solving-the-textbook-cost-crisis

24. The Academic Impact
• 80% thought purchasing textbooks was an important part
of their studies
• 88% of students claimed to have skipped purchasing a
textbook because of the price.
• 9% claimed to have changed their course because of the
cost of books associated with it.
Rolfe, V. Could open textbooks improve the experience of all students?

25. 2012 2016
63.6% 66.5% Not purchase the required textbook
49.2% 47.6% Take fewer courses
45.1% 45.5% Not register for a specific course
33.9% 37.6% Earn a poor grade
26.7% 26.1% Drop a course
17.0% 19.8% Fail a course
In your academic career, has the cost of required
textbooks caused you to:
http://www.openaccesstextbooks.org/pdf/2012_Florida_Student_Textbook_Survey.pdf

26. Photo: CC BY-ND 2.0 by Christian Weidinger, https://flic.kr/p/iqbQsV

31. Other models…

35. Where does the funding come from?
Universities (SUNY, Umass Amherst, Portland
State, …)
Foundations (Hewlett, Gates, …)
Governments (state, federal)
Institutional Consortia (CALI)

44. All Rights
Reserved
Some Rights
Reserved

47. Plus…
PhotobyBccampus_News,CCBY-NC2.0https://flic.kr/p/VjyVBK

48. With Creative Commons licenses, you are
free to…
Copy Mix
Share Keep
Edit Use

54. PhotobyB.delosArcos,CCBY-NChttps://flic.kr/p/Fo2PZm

55. AdaptedfromPaulStacey,BCcampusOpenTextbookWorkshop,CCBY
https://www.slideshare.net/Paul_Stacey/bccampus-open-textbook-workshop
not OPEN
OPEN

56. open.umn.edu

57. 1 1
9 10
39
133
378
489
0
40
80
120
160
200
240
280
320
360
400
440
480
520
1.0-1.5 1.5-2.0 2.0-2.5 2.5-3.0 3.0-3.5 3.5-4.0 4.0-4.5 4.5-5.0
Reviews
Ratings
Open Textbook Reviews

58. 12 Peer Reviewed Studies of
Perceptions of OER Quality
http://openedgroup.org/

59. 5,201 educators and students
http://openedgroup.org/

60. 50%
Same35%
Better
15%
Worse
http://openedgroup.org/

61. 13 Peer Reviewed Studies of Efficacy
http://openedgroup.org/

62. 119,720 students
http://openedgroup.org/

63. 95% same or better outcomes
http://openedgroup.org/

64. Introductory, algebra-based, two-semester
college physics
1272 pages
Available in
PDF
ePub
Print
Web
Bookshare (accessible)
Instructor solution manual
Powerpoint slides

65. Examples of customizing

69. PM4ID

70. What can we do?
• Take a look! (open.umn.edu)
• Write a review!
• Adopt, if a book meets the needs of you and
your students
• Raise awareness - talk with colleagues in
your program and department

71. Writing a review
Is there is a textbook in the Open Textbook Library
that fits your class and/or expertise?
Stipend will be paid for reviewing a textbook in the
Open Textbook Library

72. open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/

73. Writing a review
1. You will receive an email with a link to the online review
form.
2. Complete a concise review by December 1st
3. The review will be posted on the Open Textbook Library
under an open license.
4. A €€€ voucher will be paid.

74. 1) Write a review
2) Adopt a book to use with
students
3) Be part of our open textbook
community – subscribe to the
blog, follow us on Twitter
4) Contact Bea for any queries
What next?

75. Bea de los Arcos
b.de-los-arcos@open.ac.uk
@celTatis
@UKOpenTextbooks
Open Textbook Library: open.umn.edu
UK Open Textbook Project: ukopentextbooks.org/
Slides adapted from work by David Ernst at http://slideshare.net/djernst