Textbooks and course materials

"Open Educational Resources are teaching, learning and research materials in any medium – digital or otherwise – that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions."

"Open Educational Resources" by William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Accessibility

• Students are able to use their financial aid through the college bookstore to for traditional textbook rentals and purchases. 
• The college offers services for students that require accommodations with regards to making textbooks accessible. Contact the Achievement Center for information on services provided.  

Cost to students

• Used textbook and rental options can reduce costs to students
• Placing a copy of the textbook on reserve in the library can provide no cost access to students unable to afford a copy
• Students who've purchased a copy of the textbook may have an opportunity to recoup some of their costs by selling their book back to the bookstore at the end of their class. 

Format & Flexibility

Ownership

Textbook content

Students purchasing the textbook will retain ownership of their copy after the end of the course. For industry references, content that spans multiple semesters, etc. this can be beneficial. 

Permissions

Content is Students and faculty

Data

Quality of Content

Usability

Accessibility

Cost to students

• According to a 2016 U.S. PIRG student group report Covering the Cost, the cost of a college textbook has risen 73% between 2006-2016. 50% of community college students report using financial aid to help cover textbook costs. Nearly $3 billion dollars of financial aid is used on textbooks per year. CollegeBoard's Trends in Higher Education website notes that the national average yearly cost for books & supplies for 2 year college students is $1,440, $200 higher than students enrolled in any 4 year college. This data is compiled data from CollegeBoard, NCES and IPEDS.
• Textbook rentals aimed to save students money may have hidden costs, including large late fees for rentals not returned on time. 
• Frequent edition updates by textbook vendors may devalue the buyback price offered to students for trading in textbooks. 

Format & Flexibility

Ownership

Textbook content

Supplemental content obtained by additional access codes (discussed in another section) may not be retained depending on terms of use. Students renting the textbook will not be able to retain ownership of their copy after the end of the course. 

Permissions

Content is copyrighted and subject to use and copy restrictions as outlined in textbook copyright statement. 

Data

Usability