The Affordable College Textbook Act. What Is It And Why Should You Care?
- August 16, 2018
The cost of a college degree has become increasingly unaffordable, hence why this site exists to make textbooks affordable and raise awareness. As a nation, Americans hold $1.5 trillion in student debt — that means nearly 1 in 4 Americans are paying off student loans. In 2016, Time Magazine reported that the cost of attending a four-year college hit a record high, with fees outpacing overall inflation and increases in financial aid. Textbook costs have risen too — 1,041 percent since 1977, to be precise.
Congress has tried to address this issue in the past. The Higher Education Opportunity Act, a bill that would improve textbook price transparency, was signed into law in 2008. However, a GAO report in 2013 found that it did little to lower overall costs.
But the development of Open educational resources meant that there was a viable alternative to traditional print textbooks. In 2017, a group of politicians decided to put forth the Affordable College Textbook Act.
What is the Affordable College Textbook Act?
The Affordable College Textbook Act is a bill that was introduced in September 2017. Recognizing the soaring costs of higher education, senators Dick Durbin, Al Franken, and Angus King, along with Representatives Jared Polis and Kyrsten Sinema, introduced the Affordable College Textbook Act to the 115th Congress. The bill would have reduced college textbook costs by creating a federal program to fund the use of open educational resources. However, it wasn’t passed. At present, there isn’t a federal program in place to fund the use of OER.
What are open educational resources?
Open educational resources (commonly known as OER) are any type of educational materials available in the public domain and/or introduced with an open license. The ‘open’ portion means that anyone is free to legally copy, use and adapt them as they see fit. OER materials can include textbooks, syllabi, notes, assignments, question packs, quizzes and more. The format is not limited to text—video, audio and animations are all used in OER materials.
How would the Affordable College Textbook Act work?
This legislation wanted to address the skyrocketing cost of textbooks by leveraging federal resources to break the current monopoly that big publishers hold over the market.
As detailed in a press release from the sponsor’s office, the bill:
Creates a grant program to fund pilot programs at colleges and universities that create and expand the use of open textbooks. Priority is given to programs that will achieve the highest savings for students.
Ensures that any open textbooks or educational materials created using program funds will be freely and easily accessible to the public.
Requires entities who receive funds to finance the use of open educational resources to complete a report on the effectiveness of the program in achieving savings for students.
Improves existing requirements for publishers to make all textbooks and other educational materials available for sale individually rather than as a bundle.
Requires the Government Accountability Office to report to Congress with an update on the price trends of college textbooks.”
Who would have benefited from the increased use of OER?
With the exception of big textbook publishers, almost everyone. If the bill had passed, it would have been a huge win for students. A 2017 Student Loan Hero report found that graduates carried an average of $39,400 with them in student debt. Further research by Student Public Interest Research Groups claims that switching the ten introductory classes in their study to open textbooks could save students more than $1.5 billion per year nationwide. Universities and the authors of OER materials also stand to benefit, because open publication grants reach the widest possible audience. In turn, this leads to increased visibility for institutions and maximizes the impact for the funding agency.
The bill didn’t pass—what happens now?
This isn’t the first instance of a bill aiming to make education more affordable not passing. There have been three separate cases since 2013 where Congress members have introduced the Affordable College Textbook Act. Each time the bill has stalled in committee. But while students and advocates await changes on a nationwide scale, change is happening. In 2017, a group of New York State politicians pledged $8 million for the creation of OER materials. A grassroots campaign organized by U.S. PIRG and SPARC resulted in a huge boost for the Open Educational Resources movement. In March 2018, Congress agreed to earmark $5 million for an open textbook grant program. This marks the first major investment by Congress specifically for OER.
Conclusion:
As with a lot of things, change doesn’t happen overnight. Hopefully, the cost savings that higher education institutions are starting to report will help nudge Congress towards passing an Affordable College Textbook Act bill soon.
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