UAA Textbook Affordability

The cost of textbooks and course materials plays a major role in the cost of a college education, and the high cost of these materials directly undermines student success, access, and affordability. While low-cost alternatives to many textbooks exist, adopting affordable course materials can be challenging for faculty. Worse, students may feel powerless to advocate for affordable textbooks if they believe they have no influence in the adoption of course materials.

One way to reduce the out-of-pocket cost for students is to adopt free or low-cost textbooks and course materials. Adopting free-to-access materials, also known as Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) course materials, has been demonstrated to improve student success. When students have access to their materials from the first day of class, grades improve and withdrawal rates decrease, especially for those students traditionally underrepresented in higher education (Colvard et al., 2018). Students also take more courses, allowing them to move toward graduation faster (Hilton et al., 2015).

Since late 2015, UAA Textbook Affordability (a grassroots initiative under the leadership of D'Arcy Hutchings, previously in collaboration with Veronica Howard and Heather Nice) has been working to increase the use of open educational resources and ZTC materials at UAA and beyond. The links below will direct you to current and past UAA Textbook Affordability programs.

Faculty and Staff can:

• Explore the guide to getting started with finding open educational resources (OER)
• Apply for a Textbook Affordability and Open Education Mini-Grant (TAM), which funds OER/ZTC adoption, creation, and adaptation projects
• Enroll in the OER/ZTC Certificate program for self-guided, self-paced professional development
• Attend future workshops and other events (check back on this page in the future; none currently scheduled)
• Learn about marking your courses as Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) in the course registration system (proposed, advocated for, and supported by UAA Textbook Affordability; a collaboration with the office of Vice Provost for Student Success)
• Consider creating or modifying OER
• Submit your work to be included on the Textbook Affordability Heroes page
• Get help with navigating Creative Commons licenses and copyright, including fair use (contact D'Arcy Hutchings)
• Reach out to D'Arcy Hutchings with questions and for individual assistance!

Students can:

• Learn how to find courses with Zero Textbook Costs (ZTC) in the course registration system (proposed, advocated for, and supported by UAA Textbook Affordability; a collaboration with the office of Vice Provost for Student Success)
• Join and rejuvenate the Student Textbook Affordability Club
• Explore the Creative Commons Licensing for Students
• Reach out to D'Arcy Hutchings with questions and for individual assistance!

Legacy programs developed and run by UAA Textbook Affordability include:

• Consortium Library Affordable Course Materials Award for faculty, in collaboration with Library Advisory Committee
• Textbook Affordability Student Ambassadors
• Alaska Open Education Initiative federal grant project
• Textbook Affordability Fellows