The rising cost of education is not surprising to anyone. According to College Board and the following article:
http://news.yahoo.com/open-source-textbooks-most-affordable-community-college-students-181120039.html
students in U.S. community colleges pay approximately $6,000 in tuition and $1,000 for textbooks annually. Many students cannot afford to purchase textbooks for their courses. Others simply choose to take fewer courses in order to buy books. In both cases, students are the ones being marginalized.
There are many factors that determine and influence the cost of an education. One approach to minimize costs has come through the implementation of a textbook rental program. Many universities have adopted this approach. While the savings are evident, the cost of renting a book is still significant. My problem with renting textbooks is that you must return the book after the term is over. Sometimes, I like to keep the textbooks I use in a course for future reference or because it was a fantastic read. Also, some students buy textbooks so that they can sell them and recoup some of the cost. With rental books, you pay a smaller amount up front, but receive nothing in return. This is why the rental program is heavily dependent on the buy/rent ratio. Digital books are another alternative to purchasing textbooks; they have also achieved little success. They often cost the same amount of money as regular books.
Geoff Cain, director of distance education at College of the Redwoods in California, believes that students need access to “open” learning materials to effectively reduce textbook expenses. Open learning materials consist of e-books, videos, and simulations, all of which can be accessed free of charge. The launch of OpenCourseWare (OCW) by MIT was a big step forward. OCW is a program that allows universities to share materials for free. Youtube has also become a big contributor to this movement. Nowadays, students can find tutorials and video recordings for almost any class. I know many students, including myself, who use these videos to supplement their learning or to catch up for a missed lecture.
Open-source books rely on the academic community: students, teachers, and administrators. Martha Kanter, undersecretary of U.S. Education Department, has been a long-time supporter of the open-source initiative. She argues that Open Education Resources (OER) will prevent instructors from having to renew textbook editions and students from having to pay huge sums regularly. OER is supported by a Creative Commons license, which gives users the right to modify, add, or delete information. This way instructors can combine free materials from all over the world.
In my opinion, open-source is the way to go. The benefits are plenty, risks are negligible, and the savings are monumental. Students can focus on doing just one thing, studying; instructors can make use of cutting-edge research that is conducted around the world. More and more universities are making use of open-source materials and adding to their online collections. Open-source materials are redefining the idea of affordable and universal education. The possibilities are limitless!
Open source is definitely a great solution to minimizing the cost of tuition in terms of money spent on books. Some course books are often ridiculously priced when you look at how much of the book will actually be used during a course - and then theres the edition changing every so often (often with very minimal changes to the textbook) which makes it difficult to sell books if you choose to do so.
ReplyDeleteAll universities with the means to do so (i.e. having computers with internet on campus or students who own/have access to personal computers) should consider adopting open source books as a replacements for textbooks (including UofT!!). This would be a great way to share educational information with universities/schools across the globe and expand ones knowledge without hurting one's finances.
Interesting read!
You're right! I agree that universities should be offering more free, online course materials. U of T has given its students access to hundreds of online resources and publications (journals etc.) It doesn't seem improbable that these resources could eventually replace expensive textbooks.
DeleteThe problem with renewing editions is a common one. Often times students avoid buying the new textbook because it's considerably more expensive while the information is almost identical. Having the IT infrastructure (computers and Internet access), as you mentioned, is one piece of the puzzle. The ultimate decision, I think, lies in the hands of the academic community. They must realize that the benefits clearly outweigh the disadvantages. Open source has the potential to succeed and save students and institutions tons of money.