Legislation
In 2008 the Higher Education Opportunity Act became law. A portion of that law designed to tackle the rapid rising cost of textbooks.
The law, which went into effect on July 1, 2010, contained three main provisions:
By including, a list of assigned books prior to class starting, provision 3 provides an opportunity for students to save money by shopping around for less expensive textbooks. Although a great concept, in the real world, students with the greatest need must rely on financial aid, which often only covers bookstore offerings.
Another theme that emerged from the legislation promoted the use of open-source textbooks. For this concept to work, faculty must play an active role by adopting open source textbooks.
In 2009/2010 a bill was introduced to Congress, to authorize grants for the creation, update, or adaption of open textbooks, and for other purposes (S. 1714 (111th): Open College Textbook Act of 2009). The bill (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/111/s1714/text) was not enacted, but interest is still out there. Evidence of this can be found in the legislation by California (SB 1052 and SB 1053) for the creation of free, openly licensed digital textbooks (http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/34288). Illinois Governor Quinn has also signed legislation for digital textbooks (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/111/s1714/text). You can find additional legislation at the Open States website (http://openstates.org/).
The law, which went into effect on July 1, 2010, contained three main provisions:
- Publishers must disclose textbook price and revision information to faculty during the marketing process.
- Publishers must offer unbundled versions of textbooks.
- Colleges must include the list of assigned textbooks during course registration.
By including, a list of assigned books prior to class starting, provision 3 provides an opportunity for students to save money by shopping around for less expensive textbooks. Although a great concept, in the real world, students with the greatest need must rely on financial aid, which often only covers bookstore offerings.
Another theme that emerged from the legislation promoted the use of open-source textbooks. For this concept to work, faculty must play an active role by adopting open source textbooks.
In 2009/2010 a bill was introduced to Congress, to authorize grants for the creation, update, or adaption of open textbooks, and for other purposes (S. 1714 (111th): Open College Textbook Act of 2009). The bill (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/111/s1714/text) was not enacted, but interest is still out there. Evidence of this can be found in the legislation by California (SB 1052 and SB 1053) for the creation of free, openly licensed digital textbooks (http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/34288). Illinois Governor Quinn has also signed legislation for digital textbooks (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/111/s1714/text). You can find additional legislation at the Open States website (http://openstates.org/).