Textbook affordability is a growing concern among students and
faculty. In the last two decades college textbooks have nearly
tripled in price. Students routinely spend $1,000 a year on
textbooks. As a result, some students forsake higher education, drop
out of college, or do not enroll in certain classes because they are
unable to afford the textbooks.
Cerritos College began an Open Textbook Initiative to provide free
and low-cost textbook choices for students. The Business
Administration department made the decision to use open textbooks
published by Flat World Knowledge, and the college is seeing the
positive impact on students and faculty. The company’s open
publishing license and online platform enable students to have
immediate access to free online textbooks, or they may choose a
low-cost option that better suits their learning needs, such as
print-on-demand, audio and downloadable versions that students can
read on a range of devices from computers to hand-held readers.
The open textbook format also benefits students with special needs.
By making the textbooks available in DAISY (Digital Accessible
Information System) and BRF (Braille Ready Format) formats. For
faculty, the online platform improves efficiency and gives them the
freedom to control the content of the textbook. They can remix,
reorder and delete material using a drag-and-drop function. Student
feedback has been positive regarding the quality of the content, as
well as the choice of price, access and format.
For more information see:http://cms.cerritos.edu/uploads/Insight/Spring2010_Insight_web_spread.pdf