September 26, 2017 – Over the last few years, several Santa Fe College professors opted to forego the use of traditional textbooks and use Open Educational Resources (OER) to save students money.  OER content is licensed in a manner that provides perpetual permission resulting in the ability to retain, reuse, revise, and redistribute content.

During Fall 2016, there were 98 sections using an OER.  During Fall 2017, that number more than doubled with 207 sections. As a result, there has been over one million dollars in savings for students since tracking began.

The average yearly cost of textbooks per student is approximately $1,200. Studies have shown how the high cost of textbooks has affected student learning and academic choices in several ways including taking fewer courses, not registering for a specific course, dropping, withdrawing or failing a course or earn a poor grade.

Over 66 percent of students do not purchase the required textbook.  This greatly affects their ability to be successful. Using OER enables students to learn without the financial hurdles printed textbooks can present. Many online OER have a low-cost print option if students wish to have a hard copy.

A list of courses/instructors using OER can be found at sfcollege.edu/online/resources-and-services/zero-cost-textbooks.

If you are interested in using an OER, would like more information, or your name is not on the listing, contact debbie.blair@sfcollege.edu.

Today@Santa FE