Tell your story. Tell instructors how much textbooks cost and what challenges you face in affording them.
Talk with the NISG Textbook Equity Student Rep. This new role will be filled soon for 2022-23.
NISG could sign a statement in support of open textbooks and pass a resolution encouraging faculty to adopt open textbooks. Textbook Equity Librarian Anne Marie Gruber can assist (anne.gruber@uni.edu).
Talk with your librarian or the Textbook Equity Librarian. They are very interested in advocating for open textbooks. In fact, it's part of their job!
Join the #FreeTheTextbook movement.
Spread the word on social media using #TextbookBroke #FreeTheTextbook #TextbookEquity
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. 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.
Open textbooks are FREE, ONLINE, and intentionally licensed and shared for REUSE. Many open textbooks are published under a Creative Commons license and available online; some are downloadable in a variety of formats. Most can be printed at low-cost. Faculty can modify open textbooks to meet their needs. Contact Rod Library's Digital Scholarship Unit if you need assistance modifying open textbooks and understanding what open textbook licenses allow.
Rod Library's Affordable Textbook Initiative saved UNI students more than $421,000 in 2018-19 due to open textbook adoptions.
This March 1, 2021 faculty panel discussion, "Cutting Costs for Students: Moving to a Free Online Textbook," was held in conjunction between the UNI Scholarly Communication Committee and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Facilitator: Jim Demastes (Biology). Panelists: Jonathan Chenoweth (School of Music); Deb Young (Languages & Literatures); and Robert Earle (Philosophy & World Religions).