OERs have saved students about $12,300 in textbook costs.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin has proposed legislation for free college textbooks.
The thought of having free textbooks brings a sigh of relief, but whether the Democratic senator will follow through and gather more support is another thing.
For now, our main focus should be what this college is doing here on campus to work with students and faculty to address the high cost of textbooks.
President Robert Vela said this college has about 140 sections that use open education resources, called OERs.
An OER is an open textbook that is free to students, and they can access them on any device.
So far, those 140 sections of OERs saved students about $12,300 this semester, Vela said.
Lowering or eliminating the cost of textbooks would greatly help college students.
Faculty and administration forget what it was like to be a broke college student.
Besides worrying about tuition, the cost of textbooks, homework and grades, students do have a life outside of college.
For some students, life includes balancing two jobs, children to raise and bills to pay.
Professors should be teaming up with the board and state to come up with solutions to the high cost of textbooks.
Together, professors and the board could work toward developing more online education resources.
Giving students access to open textbooks could improve studying habits, grades and possibly enrollment.
The price of textbooks would be a great burden lifted off students’ shoulders, encouraging more to enroll.
Students need to speak up to our college president, professors, and, more important, our congressional representatives to fight for lowering or eliminating the high cost of textbooks.
Why should the cost of a book be a barrier to success?
