Open source textbooks, free digital textbooks for professors to use in their courses, are one thing student senators can agree on.
Student Body President Lindsay Richardson has looked into using OpenStax College as a provider. OpenStax is a nonprofit organization that began as an initiative of Rice University that provides college textbooks in subjects such as chemistry, economics, statistics and more.
“Our free textbooks are developed and peer-reviewed by educators to ensure they are readable, accurate and meet the scope and sequence requirements of your course," according to the OpenStax website. "Through our partnerships with companies and foundations committed to reducing costs for students, OpenStax College is working to improve access to higher education for all."
Richardson first heard about schools using open source textbooks while at the SECU Collaborative Workshops at Texas A&M earlier this month.
Richardson said she hopes more professors will consider open source textbooks as an option for their students to reduce their overall costs.
“It would allow students to be able to use these resources at a free cost to them online. If they want a print copy they can also get a print copy, just at cost, which is about 200 percent below the normal textbook (price),” Richardson said.
Three sociology professors already use open source textbooks. The students in these classes do not have to pay any money for the textbook and can access it online.
“This is kind of like a legacy project," Richardson said. “I don’t think this is something I’ll be able to see while I’m a student at the university. I do have really great hopes for the project, especially with the support we got from the administration, from the provost, even from some faculty senate members about what great things this could do for our student body.”
Richardson said the iniative has seen some support around campus, including the library.
“We think it’s really going to long-termly(sic) drive down the cost of what our students at the University of South Carolina are paying in textbooks,” Richardson said.