Research Guides: Open Educational Resources (OER) & Textbook Equity: Textbook Equity Basics

Textbook Equity Librarian

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What is Textbook Equity?

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:

Saved UNI students more than $1 million since tracking began in 2016.
Created a program to publish UNI-authored free textbooks. From 2022 through 2024, Rod Library will publish 10 free, openly-licensed textbooks, saving UNI students more than $280,000 per year once implemented.
Started UNI Textbook Equity Student Advisory Board and partnered with Northern Iowa Student Government to engage students in textbook equity advocacy.
Partnered with UNI Registrar's Office and UNI Bookstore to increase transparency and data collection about versions of course materials that are free to students.
Created Course Materials Affordability Review service, an opt-in program for faculty to receive a customized list of free/affordable materials matching a course.
Recognized more than 15 Textbook Equity Champions, UNI faculty who have demonstrated commitment to course materials access by transitioning courses to Open Educational Resources (OER), saving UNI students about $300,000 per year.
Participated in 2021-22 AAC&U Institute on OER to create a campus Action Plan for textbook equity.
Provide statewide leadership through participation on Iowa OER Action Team.
Awarded $192,519 external grant for OER creation, resulting in the Regents OER Grant Program.
Created UNI Textbook Equity Mini-Grant Program for faculty to transition courses to existing OER or create their own. The first 5 projects will save UNI students more than $64,000 per year once complete.

University of Northern Iowa
National Level

Why is Textbook Equity important at the UNI?

In a spring 2021 survey (n = 688), UNI students reported they:

share books (61%).
avoid purchase of required texts (48%).
change sections or avoid registering for a specific course/section due to textbook costs (29%).
have earned a poor or failing grade due to textbook costs (23%).
have dropped a course or taken fewer courses due to textbook costs (19%).

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).

Student Textbook Cost Survey 2020-21: Key Findings

UNI Students' Perspectives on Textbook Costs (Video)

Rod Library's Affordable Textbook Initiative has saved UNI students up to $400,000 per year due to open textbook adoptions.

Student Cost Savings by College

UNI faculty saved students more than $284,000 in 2021 through reported use of Open Educational Resources (OER)!

Faculty reporting OER use in one or more courses: 14
Colleges represented:
- College of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences (11 faculty)
- College of Social & Behavioral Sciences (1)
- College of Business (1)
- College of Education (1)

Student Cost Savings by College bar graph

Get Involved!

For Faculty/Staff
Learn more, request a presentation, or request a Course Materials Affordability Review to receive a customized list of free/affordable resources that match your course!
For Students
Learn more & find out how to advocate for more courses to use free/affordable resources!

Textbook Equity at the National Level

There are a number of ways to address textbook equity, as shown below. This guide primarily focuses on Open Educational Resources (OER).

Affordable course materials Venn diagram

Image courtesy: Abbey Elder (public domain)

Why Open Textbooks?

College Costs: Quick Guide
When faculty choose open textbooks, they remove one significant cost barrier to students' education by providing free online course materials. The College Board estimates that, on average, students at 4-year public universities spend more than $1300 per year on textbooks. High textbook costs can have a negative impact on students’ academic performance.
2018 Student Textbook and Course Materials Survey
Research demonstrates that students make difficult choices because of textbook costs, including not purchasing the required textbook, sharing textbooks, taking fewer courses, or dropping a course. Students may earn a poor grade or fail a course because they can't afford course materials. The pandemic has made many of these problems worse.
Fixing the Broken Textbook Market report (U.S. PIRG, 2021)
Key findings:
*Students continue to skip buying assigned textbooks despite concerns it will impact their grade.

*More students are skipping access codes during the pandemic.

*COVID-19 is hitting students hard and impacts course material affordability.

*Lack of reliable internet correlates with significant issues for course material access and student success.

*Food insecure students skip buying course materials at significantly higher rates.

Memberships

Open Education Network
The University of Northern Iowa has been a member of the Open Education Network (OEN) since 2016.
Iowa OER Action Team
UNI is also represented on the Iowa OER Action Team.