Open Educational Resources Could Finally Be On the Horizon | eLearningInside News

"Anyone who teaches at the postsecondary level knows that among students’ most common complaints is the high cost of textbooks. At some colleges, textbook cost is contentious enough to warrant a special question on course evaluations. While there was little one could do about textbook cost in a pre-digital era, with digital books now widely available, textbooks could be free or nearly free for all students. But that is not yet the case.

This is precisely why Representative Jared Polis (D-Colorado) with several cosponsors, including Democrat, Republican and Independent members, introduced the Affordable College Textbook Act (H.R. 3840/S. 1864) in September 2017. In short, the Act seeks to reduce the cost of textbooks at U.S. colleges and universities by expanding the use of open textbooks and other open educational resources that can be freely used, adapted, and shared. While Polis has yet to gain approval for the Affordable College Textbook Act, last week, his efforts did result in a commitment from Congress to fund a pilot project....

While throwing one’s support behind open educational resources may seem like a no-brainer, in fact, the journey to legislate these resources has proven difficult. Congress initially addressed the issue in 2008 when it introduced provisions in the Higher Education Opportunity Act to improve textbook price transparency, but the bill ultimately did little to regulate overall textbook costs. Now, there is a growing lobby to introduce OER textbooks or “open textbook,” which would be available online at no cost and in print at a low cost. Last week, after a period of intense lobbying, a $5 million-pilot program was finally approved by Congress to create OER textbooks. As stated in a press release issued by SPARC, “In a landmark victory for the Open Education movement, the U.S. Congress has included funding for a $5 million open textbook grant program in the Fiscal Year 2018 omnibus appropriations bill unveiled today. This marks the first major investment by Congress explicitly in open educational resources (OER) as a solution to the high cost of college textbooks, and underscores that course materials are a significant factor in making higher education affordable. The FY18 omnibus is expected to proceed swiftly to votes in the House and Senate and get signed into law this week.” Details of the $5,000,000 pilot reveal that the pilot will offer a “competitive grant program to support projects at institutions of higher education that create new open textbooks or expand their use in order to achieve savings for students while maintaining or improving instruction and student learning outcomes.” Notably, any open textbook created with program funds will be licensed under a “nonexclusive, irrevocable license to the public to exercise any of the rights under copyright conditioned only on the requirement that attribution be given as directed by the copyright owner.” Institutions that demonstrate the greatest potential to achieve the highest level of savings for students will be favored in the allocation of grants. While the pilot may not have an immediate impact on the nation’s 20.4 million postsecondary students, it certainly does give college students some hope that in the future, they may be able to access the textbooks they need to fully engage in their courses and programs of study...."