Make Textbooks Affordable

URL = http://www.maketextbooksaffordable.org/statement

Background

"Textbook costs can be a huge financial burden on students, and considering new low-cost options can help keep higher education affordable and accessible.

Although most of the textbooks on the existing market are expensive, an emerging number of free, online, open-access textbooks presents one of our best hopes for more affordable, comparable options. While the supply of these textbooks is still small, existing open textbooks have already won adoptions at some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions, including Harvard and Caltech. Instructors who use open textbooks have affirmed that high-quality textbooks are not necessarily expensive textbooks.

The statement below is an effort to build faculty interest and demand for affordable and still comparable course materials, including open textbooks.

Signers state their intent to consider open textbooks in the search for the most appropriate course materials, and their preference to adopt an open textbook in place of an expensive, commercial textbook, if the open textbook is the best option." (http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/7993)

Text

URL = http://www.maketextbooksaffordable.org/statement.asp?id2=37614

"As faculty members, we affirm that it is our prerogative and responsibility to select course materials that are pedagogically most appropriate for our classes. We also affirm that it is consistent with this principle to seek affordable and accessible course materials for our classes whenever possible. This includes “open textbooks,” which are textbooks offered online to students at no cost.

Open textbooks and other open educational resources present an affordable, comparable and flexible alternative to commercial course materials:

• Open textbooks are available online at no cost to students, and they can be printed for a low cost in various formats. This ensures all students have equal access to the content, while still preserving the option to use a conventional textbook format.

• Open textbooks that are of comparable quality to commercial textbooks are already available. An example of an open textbook is Caltech Professor R. Preston McAfee’s Introduction to Economic Analysis, which has been adopted at NYU and Harvard.

• Open textbooks are flexible. Instructors are free to use a particular edition indefinitely or customize content if desired.

Therefore, we the undersigned declare our intent to:

• Seek and consider open textbooks and other open educational resources when choosing course materials.

• Give preference to a low or no cost educational resource such as an open textbook over an expensive, commercial textbook if it best fits the needs of a class.

• Encourage institutions to develop support for the use of open textbooks and other open educational resources."

(http://www.maketextbooksaffordable.org/statement.asp?id2=37614)