The University Libraries hosted a workshop by the Open Textbook Network on September 9, 2016
Over 35 UNCG faculty attended the workshop led by Rajvi Jhangiani, psychology professor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Vancouver, Canada.
Major points Jhangiani covered included:
– The burden of cost for higher education is trending toward the student, with less support by state funding.
– Textbook prices have risen at a much higher rate than inflation.
– Average student nationally spent around $1300 for textbooks and course materials for 2015-16.
– To cope with the cost, students nationally are delaying purchasing a textbook, purchasing older editions, sharing a textbook with other, or never purchasing the textbook.
– Textbook prices have risen at a much higher rate than inflation.
– Average student nationally spent around $1300 for textbooks and course materials for 2015-16.
– To cope with the cost, students nationally are delaying purchasing a textbook, purchasing older editions, sharing a textbook with other, or never purchasing the textbook.
The workshop was part of a larger initiative by the Libraries to reduce educational costs for our students. In the spring, University Libraries will open applications for faculty to apply for incentive grants to encourage instructors to use low-cost or free alternatives to expensive course materials. These can include open-access scholarly resources, library-licensed and owned resources, and learning objects and texts that faculty create themselves.
The Greensboro News & Record reported on UNCG’s initiatives in the recent front page feature “As Textbook Prices Soar, UNCG Looks for Alternatives.” The piece noted that UNCG last year became the first North Carolina university to join the Open Textbook Network.
If you are interested in using Open Textbooks or Open Educational Resources in your class and want more information visit the website http://uncg.libguides.com/oer or contact Beth Bernhardt atbeth_bernhardt@uncg.edu.
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