Cutting Course Material Costs to Increase Student Success

The Case Studies and Support You Need to Make a Change

Jill Gomez, Leah Henson, Caryn Neumann, John Burke

Regionals Virtual Recharge 2025

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Sawmill Circular Saw Blade" by Ben Franske is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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In this session, we will . . .

• Assess the impact of textbook and courseware costs on Regional students
• Share three case studies where faculty members have made changes to their course materials to increase affordability and impact retention
• Provide next steps for you to move along the path from fee to free
• Take questions from participants and hear other stories of using textbook alternatives

What’s your textbook story?

There’s a problem . . .

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More info at: https://mathematikoi.net/p0/index.html

How much are students spending on textbooks?

• Miami tells students they will spend $1250/year on Books, Course Materials, Supplies, and Equipment
• NACS says 2023-24 student annual textbook cost was $342 (self-reported, distributed via email by campus bookstores)
• Quick sampling of Miami Plan texts at Brick & Ivy Bookstore: $40-185 to buy and $24-112 to rent (4 sample semesters/20 courses included 4 courses using OER or library resources, 3 with no textbook required, and 2 TBD - range per semester = $100.35 to $267.02)
• Digital textbooks and rentals lower costs (but limit access and remove the ability to resell)
• Regional student textbook survey: 49% spent more than $200 for one semester; 77% spent more than $101

Faculty members are the key

2024 Bay View Analytics faculty survey:

• 78% regularly use textbooks (any format)
• 62% believe cost is “a serious problem”
• 56% “very aware” or “aware” of OER
• 26% use OER in their classrooms

2023 Miami University Regionals Student Textbook Survey

• On average, students were taking 4.5 courses, 3 of which had required course materials.
• Respondents were, on average, purchasing items for 1.5 courses and renting items for 1.3 courses.

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What can students tell us about textbooks?

• 2023 Miami University Regionals Student Textbook Survey
• January 31-February 10, 2023
• 297 respondents (generally representative of Regionals students)
• Survey Summary (with links to full results)
• Comparative national statistics (Inside HigherEd)

Key takeaways from the survey

• 74% of students were worried at some level about course material costs.
• Students in underrepresented groups are more likely to be “extremely worried.” (race/ethnicity, disability, child/parent care, loans, first gen, full-time job, Pell grant recipient)
• 77% actively looked for ways to reduce their costs (knowledge gaps exist among students about their options)
• 58% of students have taken fewer courses or do not register for specific courses due to course material costs.
• 41% either frequently or occasionally do not buy the textbook
• 23% of students have dropped courses due to their inability to afford the materials.
• 83% of students have taken a course where there were no required course materials to buy, and where the instructor assigned readings or activities from other sources.

Courseware reactions

• No options to purchase (or sell) “used” access codes
• Often have limited subscription periods
• Some students complained they only learned about courseware at the start of class

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• "Online textbooks are WAYYYYYY overpriced considering I dont get to keep it forever and the company spends NO MONEY to print it. the profit margin is predatory."
• "I have spent a lot of money for access to websites which is very annoying."
• "Using a textbook that has an access code for online assignments is even worse, because it can cost me an extra $100 per semester just to be able to do my homework for one class."

Inclusive Access = Automatic Textbook Billing

• Inclusive access or equitable access
• Miami University’s Inclusive Access program
• Pros:
1. Digital access to all course materials (courseware) in Canvas
2. Access is immediate at start of course
3. Materials are uniform for every student
4. Cost savings for students
• Cons:
• Cost savings are not always present, nor are they guaranteed to last (prices change)
• Students are automatically billed for course materials along with their tuition and other fees
• Opting out is not easy, and there may not be a workable alternative beyond inclusive access
• Still may be unaffordable for some students
• More information at InclusiveAccess.org

If we want to reduce course materials costs for students:

• Inclusive access deals (reduce cost - maybe)
• Find cheaper student-purchased books (reduce cost)
• Put books on reserve in the libraries (no cost)
• Use library-owned or -licensed materials (no cost)
• Lend copies of books to students (no cost)
• Find open textbooks (no cost or low cost for print ed.)
• Use a combination of OERs (no cost)
• Open access or public domain items (no cost)

(bolded items have no cost for students or institutions)

Spanish Basic Language Sequence

• All five courses required a textbook bundle with publisher-website access ($125-$240/12 month access).
• Instructors were dependent on publisher-created materials and assignments.
• Students were required to complete assignments both on the LMS and on the publisher website.
• Some students would attempt to purchase used copies which typically came with no/invalid codes or could not afford the bundle and dropped the course(s).
• Instructors began a multi-year process to create their own materials in Canvas including culture-focused assignments, grammar/vocabulary review assignments, and grammar/vocabulary comprehension and application checks.

Spanish Basic Language Sequence

• For SPN 201 and 202, the instructor-created content was finalized in Fall 2023 and went live for Winter 2024.
• For SPN 101, 102, and 111, the content was finalized in Spring 2024 and went live for Summer 2024.
• In Fall 2023, two faculty members applied for and received a Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) grant to purchase used textbooks.
• They collaborated with Miami Regionals Libraries to put the 70+ texts on reserve for semester-long loan.
• Students can now purchase or borrow used textbooks, including older editions ($0-$30/used for all courses)

Spanish Basic Language Sequence

• Students will be surveyed about the course format and textbook access options.
• Review and revision of instructor-created materials and assignments will continue.
• Instructors will add new materials to strengthen the existing course content.

Women’s Studies Courses

• Textbook: Amazon $35 (used, limited numbers) - $106 (new)
• Hamilton, OH minimum wage $8.80
• Kroger cashier: $13/hr
• Raising Cane’s cook: $15/hr
• LaRosa’s cashier: $12/hr

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*Self-reported from Zippia

Women’s Studies Courses

• Spring 2025 newly designed course
• Supported with OhioLINK OER Course Redesign Grant
• OhioLINK librarian provided OER textbook options
• OER quality equivalent to commercial textbook

LIN 202 American Dialects, Culture, and Identity

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• Was ENG 202 Varieties of English: Dialect Diversity and Language Change
• Met two Global Miami Plan (pre-2023) areas:
• IIB Humanities
• Intercultural Perspectives
• Revamped to meet several 2023+ Miami Plan areas:
• Perspectives Area 4A: Global Citizenship (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)
• Signature Inquiry 2: Power, Justice, and Social Change
• Signature Inquiry 4: Creativity, Storytelling, and Design
• Taught on the Oxford campus F2F using two textbooks

LIN 202 American Dialects, Culture, and Identity

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• Taught for the first time Fall 2024 at Regionals
• Started with ALL the outcomes (course, PA4, SI, LIN, and EGS)
• Wasn’t a fan of the chosen textbooks (which were used in the previous version of the course and didn’t easily compile the dialect characteristics)
• SI SLO 3: Search for, read/listen to, and evaluate appropriate sources of information (primary or secondary) for understanding issues or seeking solutions
• Opted to compile text and video sources (many of which were tertiary) in modules for students to use
• Included assignments on evaluating sources (including Wikipedia) and had students evaluate the module sources as part of the dialect assignments
• Students also searched for primary sources featuring the dialect

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LIN 202 and LIN 201 Introduction to Linguistics

• Continue to update and refine sources for LIN 202
• Some linguists have TikTok channels with great videos; I worked to download those to prepare for a potential TikTok ban
• Used professional development funds for LIN 201 (meets Formal Reasoning in the Miami Plan) to purchase 25 copies of Language Files 12th edition through the library for semester-long checkout
• New edition of Language Files comes out every four years, but we only use the first seven of 18 chapters, and very little changes in those chapters
• Consider OERs for LIN 201
• I’ve reviewed a couple, but they tend to fall apart with phonetics and phonology or they have a Canadian focus

Support for making a switch

• Your Regional Libraries: (Textbook Alternatives and OER Guide)
• Your OER/Affordable Learning Committee - $200-$1500 OER Explore/Adopt awards - Course Pack Consultation service
• Your Regional CTL Teaching Initiative Grants ($500)
• Miami Online - grants/course redesign support
• OhioLINK OER Course Redesign Grants ($650)

Next steps to replace your textbook

• Consider if any of your course materials could be replaced.
• Investigate your options.
• Consult with colleagues or librarians for assistance.
• Complete a self-paced course in Canvas! “Impact Student Success: Finding Alternatives to Textbooks” is available now for you to self-enroll (for Miami, or email me at burkejj@miamioh.edu and I’ll add you). Work through five modules on your own schedule.

Questions?

gomezjr@miamioh.edu

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neumance@miamioh.edu

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hensonlm@miamioh.edu

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burkejj@miamioh.edu