Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo recently unveiled her new initiative to save college students money by creating openly-licensed textbooks for universities.
Raimondo said that these “open textbooks” created by her initiative will make them free for students. She added that she has set a goal for the state of Rhode Island to eventually save college students $5 million over the course of the next five years.
“We’ve kicked it off at Rhode Island College,” Raimondo said. “In one biology class, making one book free to students, we’ve already saved students $100,000. I’ve talked to a lot of students and they tell me, ‘Governor, I can’t afford $200 for a biology book, help us out.’ So, that’s what we’re going to do. We’re helping you out and we’re going to try and make as many textbooks free as we can for students.”
In reflecting on what made her begin this initiative, Raimondo said that she has always had an interest in making college more affordable for students.
“College is the surest ticket to the middle class for people, and whether it’s bringing down tuition or providing free textbooks or forgiving student loans, it’s part of my overall mission to make sure everybody gets a college degree so they can get a good job,” Raimondo said. “Getting a college degree shouldn’t be easy, school is hard, [but] paying for it needs to be easier and that’s what we’re working on.”
Students who heard about Raimondo’s initiative were excited at the prospect of hopefully saving money on an essential classroom material.
“I think it’s a great idea, because I personally had to go on Amazon and find cheaper books, and it took me like two hours and I still spent a good amount of money,” freshman Skylar Realejo said. “We’re already paying enough money to go to school. I think they should supply us with books.”
There are two terms being used to describe openly-licensed textbooks, according to Director of Campus Stores Paul Whitney. The first is “open access resources” and the second is “open educational resources.” These terms would mean that licensed course materials would be available in book format online.
“You could print a PDF copy for nothing and if there was a printed textbook, which there is now, those are very nominal costs,” Whitney said. “For instance, we have one textbook that I’m aware of here; it’s a biology book and it’s about $50.”
Whitney explained that URI is still in the beginning of the process for making these textbooks open to students. He added that openly-licensed textbook programs are not new, and said that he and the URI bookstore have been promoting other digital options for students for a few years. But these types of programs are funded by donations, as they don’t create their own revenue.
Whitney said that the development of vetted content by publishers does come at a cost. Over time these costs start to rise, and companies that get bought out by larger companies also want to drive up income for stockholders, often by creating new editions for students.
“Faculty have pressured them a little bit, and prices have begun to come down, but really not enough,” Whitney said. “Open educational resources around the country have been a strong initiative. Multiple states are trying to push the concept and now it’s really a marketing thing.”
Dean of University Libraries Karim Boughida noted that Rhode Island is the first state in the nation os sponsor this type of initiative below the dean or provost level, adding that they have almost every college “on board.” However, he added that openly-licensed textbooks are not achievable for all curriculum at the university, as it depends on each course and the availability of the text.
“I always say, free is not free,” Boughida said. “There is a cost to this initiative. We’re trying to make it as low cost as possible, but there is a cost.”
There have not been any specific goals set yet for how much URI plans to save students, according to Whitney. But for most classes the department faculty choose the course materials. Therefore, Whitney said faculty have already begun the process of collecting those resources.
“Where the larger savings will come is if they select a chemistry book as one of the open educational resource books,” Whitney said. “Then that’s going to be substantial savings. If the faculty select that book for a period of time, two or three years, then the bookstore is going to be able to rent that book, buy back that book, and that book is going to start around $50, not $200.”
The next steps for URI in continuing the process will be creating workshops for faculty where Whitney and his group can share information about the governor’s initiative. Additionally, Whitney said that the campus store has student survey from last year which will help him and others be an advocate for student voices in this process.
“Not everything is going to be free,” Whitney said. “Even free costs something. If you could study and not buy anything, then why wouldn’t you study that way. Students change faster than higher education does. We believe that students have to be an important component in this process and that’s why we’re working with the Student Senate.”