Unexpected Library Tools for Teaching and Research

1. Textbook Prices

• According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, college textbook prices increased 187.5 percent in the past decade, more than any other cost to college students in that same time period [BLS]
• Over the past decade, textbook prices have risen at over three times the rate of inflation. [Student Public Interest Research Groups]
• 66% of students have chosen not to purchase a textbook because it was too expensive. [2016 Student Textbook and Course Materials Survey, Florida Virtual Campus]

2. Control Over Course Content

• The use of OER frees faculty and instructors from having to design courses based on a commercial textbook, by which the publisher inherently dictates how the course is delivered. Using OER brings the flexibility to choose current and relevant course materials, as well as to create and/or adapt the content to match learners' needs and their teaching style. [OER: The Future of Education Is Open, EDUCAUSE]

3. Students' and Institutions' Performance

• OER improve end-of-course grades and decrease DFW (D, F, and Withdrawal letter grades) rates for all students. They also improve course grades at greater rates and decrease DFW rates at greater rates for Pell recipient students, part-time students, and populations
  historically underserved by higher education. ["The Impact of Open Educational Resources on Various Student Success Metrics", 2018]
• A study published in 2015 found that students who used OER in their undergraduate courses performed as well or better (course completion, final grade, final grade of C- or higher, enrollment intensity, and enrollment intensity in the following semester) than those assigned commercial textbooks. [A multi-institutional study of the impact of open textbook adoption on the learning outcomes of post-secondary students, 2015]