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).
Faculty and Staff:
Students:
Everyone: Reach out to D'Arcy Hutchings with questions and for individual assistance!
In addition to a variety of professional development opportunities, awareness-building efforts, and individualized support, UAA Textbook Affordability is also involved with: