Textbook Equity is a campuswide initiative aspiring that all UNI students have access to high-quality course materials that are: affordable, accessible, and inclusive.
Initiative Accomplishments To Date:
In a spring 2021 survey (n = 688), UNI students reported they:
In addition, Open Educational Resources (OER) are modifiable, so faculty can adjust content as they wish. This means the potential for more creative and culturally inclusive pedagogy!
Studies indicate that courses with free materials have an average 29% lower withdrawal rate than those with commercial textbooks (Clinton & Khan, 2019; n=78,000). And Pell-eligible, part-time, non-white, & international students benefit the most when course materials are free/affordable (Colvard, Watson, & Park, 2018; Delgado, Delgado & Hilton, 2019).
Rod Library's Affordable Textbook Initiative has saved UNI students up to $400,000 per year due to open textbook adoptions.
UNI faculty saved students more than $284,000 in 2021 through reported use of Open Educational Resources (OER)!
There are a number of ways to address textbook equity, as shown below. This guide primarily focuses on Open Educational Resources (OER).
Image courtesy: Abbey Elder (public domain)