barriers to open textbook adoption: university of kansas

Barriers to Open Textbook Adoption

Sarah Faye CohenUniversity of Kansas

April 29, 2016

Thank you.

Today, we will:• Explore issues of affordability and their

impact on student academic success;• Identify barriers to adoption of open

textbooks and practice how you might help overcome those barriers;

• Discuss why and how you might support open textbook initiatives.

Why are we really here?

#textbookbroke

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$2,000

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$9,000US Higher Education Funding - $/FTE

State Funding Tuition Revenue

http://www.sheeo.org

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$2,000

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$9,000Kansas Higher Education Funding - $/FTE

State Funding Tuition Revenuehttp://www.sheeo.org

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The average borrower owes more than

$28,950in student loans (class of 2014).

Institute for College Access and Success http://projectonstudentdebt.org/files/pub/Student_Debt_and_the_Class_of_2012_NR.pdfhttp://ticas.org/posd/map-state-data-2015

University of Kansas = $25,268

http://projectonstudentdebt.org/files/pub/Student_Debt_and_the_Class_of_2012_NR.pdf

http://projectonstudentdebt.org/files/pub/Student_Debt_and_the_Class_of_2012_NR.pdf

Cost of Attendance• Tuition and Fees• Room and Board• Books and Supplies• Personal Expenses• Transportation

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0%

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Textbooks CPI

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Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/cpi/

The average student budgets

$1,249 - $1,364on textbooks and course materials in 2015-16.

http://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing/figures-tables/average-estimated-undergraduate-budgets-2015-16

University of Kansas = $1,080

Coping with the Cost

• Purchase an older edition of the textbook

• Delay purchasing the textbook

• Never purchase the textbook

• Share a textbook• Pirate a textbook

“I figured French hadn’t changed that much.”- UMN student

63.6% Not purchase the required textbook49.2% Take fewer courses45.1% Not register for a specific course33.9% Earn a poor grade26.7% Drop a course17.0% Fail a course

http://www.openaccesstextbooks.org/pdf/2012_Florida_Student_Textbook_Survey.pdf

In your academic career, has the cost of required textbooks caused

you to:

“The hardest part of college shouldn’t be paying for it.”-Hillary Clinton, Oct. 13, 2015

Why are textbooks so expensive?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeblogs/3020966500/sizes/o/

Another model…

Two crucial elements

Two crucial elementsFunding and Licensing

Where does the funding come from?• Universities (SUNY, Portland State, Grand Valley State, Oregon State…)

• Foundations (Hewlett Foundation, Gates)• Governments (state, federal)• Professional Organizations (CALI)

All RightsReserved

Some RightsReserved

• Copy• Mix• Share• Keep• Edit• Use


Also known as…


The 5Rs: 1. Retain2. Reuse3. Revise4. Remix5. Redistribute

Also known as…

The result: open textbooks.

• Introductory, algebra-based, two-semester college physics

• 1272 pages• Available in

– PDF– Print– Web– Bookshare (accessible)

• Instructor solution manual• Extensive supplemental resources

for students and faculty• PowerPoint slides• 5+ reviews in the Open Textbook

Library

Complete, openly licensed, and freely available

A new world of options for faculty to explore.

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2013/06/image/a/

So why don’t they?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mugley/2966571740

What “barriers” do you hear

(or anticipate hearing) from faculty?

They don’t know much about them.

They’re busy:• Prepping for their courses• Responding to students• Grading• Mentoring• Research• Grant writing• Committee Work• The list goes on…

http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/openingthecurriculum2014.pdf

Let’s get more familiar with the barriers.

Barriers to Faculty Adoption• Faculty don’t know where to find open textbooks• Faculty don’t understand the urgency of student financial stress,

and how it can impact students academically• Faculty aren’t aware that open textbooks are an option• Faculty don’t know what open textbooks are• Faculty confuse open textbooks with electronic textbooks• Faculty are skeptical of the quality of open textbooks• Faculty have limited time to engage in reviewing open textbooks• What about library content?• Do open textbooks impact student learning?

All books in the Open Textbook Library:1. Must have an open license2. Must be a complete textbook (no chapters or

partial textbooks)3. Must be available as a portable file (e.g. PDF,

ePub)4. Must be currently in use at multiple higher

education institutions, or affiliated with a higher education institution, scholarly society, or professional organization.

Key finding: “Administrators and faculty members overwhelmingly say textbooks and other course materials are too expensive, and that instructors should seriously consider

costs when assigning readings.”

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That’s where YOU come in.• You are leaders on

your campus.• You work with and

support faculty on your campus.

• You share resources, options, ideas, and tools with faculty.https://www.flickr.com/photos/tomicpasko/14139726176

Faculty do know what textbooks are.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/timuiuc/4232485465

They aren’t alone.

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020406080

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Open Textbook Reviews

Ratings

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Incentivizing them

https://www.flickr.com/photos/uncle-leo/7439857916

Library resources are not “open”, only “available” within your

institution.

13 Peer Reviewed Studies of Efficacy

http://openedgroup.org/

119,720 Students


95% Same or Better Outcomes


Let’s practice tackling some frequently asked questions

(Active learning with embedded assessment time!)

But before we do….

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pictureperfectpose/76138988

BEWARE of

demonizing

https://www.flickr.com/photos/post406/242630595

BEWARE of

overwhelming

Don’t come to me with the entire truth.Don’t bring me the ocean if I feel thirsty, nor heaven if I ask for light.

-from Olav Hauge’s “Don’t come to me with the entire truth,”

translated by Robert Bly

Respect Academic Freedom

https://www.flickr.com/photos/basykes/7131116

Leave Quality Judgment to Faculty

Let’s practice tackling some frequently asked questions

(Active learning with embedded assessment time!)

Q1: How do I find time to adopt an open textbook?

Q2: They can’t be good if they’re free, right?

Q3: Are you going to try and force us to use these books?

What questions do you still have?

What questions concern you if a

faculty member approached you?

What are the ways you see open textbooks being perceived

at KU?

Open textbooks can transform higher education.

• More open access publishing• A change in how we allocate

spending• Increased engagement• Improved retention• Improved completion rates• Improved pedagogy• Ownership of course content• New partnerships and

collaborative opportunities

https://www.flickr.com/photos/86530412@N02/7932571974

What are your next steps?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dabinsi/3374255830

Do what you already do.Listen. Have conversations.Introduce new options.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandoncripps/3156373103/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/

riz94107/3357665840

Let the word spread.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcoveringa/3203134555/in/photostream/

Continue to celebrate their achievements.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottdwelch/4845488575

“Open education is about increasing student achievement, inspiring passion among faculty, and building better

connections between students and the materials that they use to meet their educational goals.”

– Quill West

Thank [email protected]

@thesheck ; @open_textbooksopen.umn.edu