Why OER and other low cost options are important:
- The costs of textbooks continues to rise.
- Students and parents are beginning to ask about textbook prices before making a decision to enroll in an institution of higher learning.
- Students are starting to expect that the price of textbooks will be made available prior to enrolling in a specific course.
- High textbook prices effect student grades, retention, and living situations.
- When faced with high textbook costs every semester, students choose to buy older editions, delay the purchase, never purchase, or share with classmates. All of these choices negatively impact student learning and success.
What is OER:
Creative Commons defines OER as follows:
- Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research materials that are either (a) in the public domain or (b) licensed in a manner that provides everyone with free and perpetual permission to engage in the 5R activities.
- Retain – make, own, and control a copy of the resource
- Reuse – use your original, revised, or remixed copy of the resource publicly
- Revise – edit, adapt, and modify your copy of the resource
- Remix – combine your original or revised copy of the resource with other existing material to create something new
- Redistribute – share copies of your original, revised, or remixed copy of the resource with others
Where to find OER resources:
- Search the open web for OER repositories.
- Use the database Faculty Select to search the various repositories using keyword searches and limiting to OER resources. Contact Stoxen Library if you need a link to this database resource.
- Evaluate the resource and decide if it something you want to use.
What are other affordable course material options:
- Stoxen Library can make physical and electronic Course Reserves available to students.
- DRM-Free ebooks are available to currently enrolled students through the library. These books can be downloaded and kept by the student for as long as they wish. Search for and request DRM-Free books using Faculty Select.
- Create Reading Lists using a mix of copyrighted library material and open sources. Contact Stoxen Library staff or use this guide to get started: Home - Reading Lists - Subject Guides at Dickinson State University (libguides.com)
- Textbook rentals or used books
