The cost and quality of online open textbooks: Perceptions of community college faculty and students

Keywords

open educational resources (OER); higher education; textbook quality

Abstract

Proponents of open educational resources (OER) claim that significant cost savings are possible when open textbooks displace traditional textbooks in the college classroom. We investigated student and faculty perceptions of OER used in a community college context. Over 125 students and 11 faculty from seven colleges responded to an online questionnaire about the cost and quality of the open textbooks used in their classrooms. Results showed that the majority of students and faculty had a positive experience using the open textbooks, appreciated the lower costs, and perceived the texts as being of high quality. The potential implications for OER initiatives at the college level seem large. If primary instructional materials can in fact be made available to students at no or very low cost, without harming learning outcomes, there appears to be a significant opportunity for disruption and innovation in higher education.

Original Publication Citation

TJ Bliss, John Hilton III, David Wiley and Kim Thanos. “The Cost and Quality of Open Textbooks: Perceptions of Community College Faculty and Students.” First Monday, 18 (1) (2013).

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2013-1

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6179

Publisher

First Monday

Language

English

College

Religious Education

Department

Ancient Scripture

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS