This summer, Pearson announced it will transition to a “digital-first” model where their future textbook releases will primarily be in continually-updating digital formats. On the heels of an announcement that McGraw-Hill and Cengage will merge, this decision highlighted a large problem for textbook providers: how to expand access and reduce costs.

Of course, it’s worth noting that while Pearson states they are “commitment to lowering the cost of higher education,” nearly two-thirds of their revenue now comes from digital products.

These decisions directly impact the two-thirds of faculty reported requiring textbooks (and nearly half requiring articles/case studies in their classes according to one study). So as faculty and students feel the pressure of skyrocketing textbook price inflation, the majority of students who do not have access to textbooks cannot do so because of cost. In fact, in one survey, 65% of students reported skipping buying a textbook because of costs.

While many faculty attempt to control costs by supporting used textbooks, rental programs, or placing copies on reserve, there is another option: Open Educational Resources (OER).

We already share, supplement, rearrange, and remix instructional content. Yet, when many hear “open educational resources,” they often confuse “open” with “free” and conclude that all free educational resources are OER. Still, others confuse “open resources” with “open source” and “open access.”

OER are “teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others. Open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.” (Source)

One of the easiest ways a creator can ensure a work is openly licensed is to add a Creative Commons license. These are free to use and standardized to ensure the creator retains copyright while allowing copying, distribution, and use of their work.

Always free to read, online/digital, and never requiring logins or passwords, open access materials are scholarly works with free public access. OER are open access, except when they are in print or other analog formats (printed textbooks, etc.).

So while some colleges tackle the textbook price tag by buying textbooks for low-income students, starting textbook-exchange programs, or creating “equitable access” programs, many have turned to OER. Unfortunately, on average, less than half of faculty are aware of OER.

Some campuses have seen communal efforts to help students acquire free textbooks, like at UCSD, where many students developed a Google spreadsheet listing more than 200 titles of frequently assigned books, including Pirate-Bay links and PDF versions to create a “Pirate Library.” But in many of these cases, publishers have often fought back successfully, either obtaining injunctions against sites or forcing them to voluntarily shut down (see also: SciHub).

Furthermore, OER are not limited to textbooks, so as faculty increasingly express a preference for digital materials in the classroom, other open articles, systems, software, and multimedia usage also increases.

Ultimately, we must consider course resources and materials based on a variety of criteria. OER not only helps lower costs for students (and faculty), but also reinforces the ‘reuse’ and ‘remix’ values that faculty are already practicing.