Report: Students Can Save Thousands By Using 'Digital, Open-Source Textbooks'​

A report related to a state pilot program has declared that college and university students across the state can save thousands with the use of "digital, open-source textbooks."

The results of the pilot program were published last month.

See the report here.

The pilot program was created through Special Act No. 15-18, "An Act Concerning the Use of Digital Open Source Textbooks in Higher Education."

The law charged the Board of Regents for Higher Education and the University of Connecticut to
each establish an open sources textbook pilot to:

• Assess the use of high-quality digital open-source textbooks.
• Promote the use of and access to open-source textbooks within their respective constituent units.

The programming for campus programs included, but was not limited to, seminars and workshops on awareness and implementation of open-source textbooks and open educational resources for faculty and staff of the institutions of higher education.

According to the report, since 2006, the cost of college textbooks has increased by 73 percent — more than four times the rate of inflation.

In a survey related to the report, many students said they did not buy or rent some of their required reading even though their decision may have impacted their grade in a course.

The report claims that students at the 48 state-affiliated higher education institutions spent more than $147 million textbooks alone in the 2014-2015 academic school year.

Many students must utilize financial aid dollars to afford their college textbooks, according to the report. Nearly 30 percent of all students attending public four-year institutions use financial aid for textbook purchases while 50 percent of community college students must rely on financial aid for book purchases, according to the report.

See the related charts and full report here.

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