Addressing the Cost of Higher Education | UMKC Today

"The cost of higher education is an issue, and one the University of Missouri-Kansas City is addressing. As part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, UMKC has had one of the lowest rates of tuition increase in the U.S. during the past decade. And despite this year’s tuition increase of 1 percent, efforts to keep the overall cost of education are continuing, and are working. For example, in June 2017, the University of Missouri-Kansas City joined UM System in the Affordable & Open Educational Resources (A&OER) program to save students money on textbooks and other course materials. “Open” educational resources are free for students; “affordable” refers to books and materials made available at a significantly reduced cost. Even before the system-wide A&OER program began, UMKC already was using AutoAccess, a program that makes textbooks and class materials available online at a lower cost than traditional learning resources. Open textbooks are full, real online textbooks and are licensed to be freely used, edited and distributed. By using open textbooks, faculty can customize content for better student learning outcomes. “High-quality, affordable education is central to our mission as the state’s public higher education institution,” said UM System President Mun Choi. “By providing open-source and affordable textbooks, we are meeting the needs of our students by lowering their costs and increasing their access to the resources that will help them be successful on our campuses.”..."