To combat the expensive cost of textbooks, Washtenaw Community College has implemented its Open Educational Resource program to create free course materials for many of its classes. Over the course of the program, students at Washtenaw have collectively saved more than $10 million.
A Washtenaw Community College program to help students earn general education, certificates, and degrees with either little or no textbook expenses has saved students $10.1 million over the duration of its lifespan so far.
In 2017, Washtenaw began its Open Educational Resources program, which was expanded this year with the school’s first Z-degree, which is a zero textbook cost degree. The new Z-degree program is an associate degree in General Studies in Math & Natural Sciences. There are also four Z-certificate programs in Business and 325 general education course section offerings.
While a traditional textbook can cost a student up to hundreds of dollars, the Open Educational Resources textbooks are free to students, and are adapted or created by Washtenaw Community College faculty and staff.
Open Education Week will be celebrated around the world starting March 6, and Washtenaw Community College will spend the week celebrating its $10.1 million in textbook savings for students over the life of the program.
Recently, over the course of the Fall 2022 semester, more than 7,000 students at Washtenaw were able to save $825,868 by taking classes that take advantage of the Open Educational Resource program.
Washtenaw Community College President Dr. Rose B. Bellanca was quoted in an article on the school’s website about the intent behind the program, saying, “Our mission is to make a positive difference in people’s lives through accessible and excellent educational programs. Our tuition is already among the lowest in the country, and our OER program makes college even more affordable for our students so they are prepared for the workforce or to transfer to a four-year institution.”
A real world example of the savings provided by OER is illustrated by Selena Reyes-Burton, who is a Washtenaw Community College student pursuing a General Studies associate degree. The standard textbook for her General Chemistry I class would normally cost almost $200, but through using OER materials created by Interim Dean of Math, Science & Engineering Technology Tracy Schwab, Reyes-Burton paid nothing.
“Saving $178 is a big deal. To be honest, if I had to come up with $178 right now, something else might have to go unpaid — like my car insurance or my car loan payment,” she said.
Washtenaw Community College began developing OER courses in 2017 to help combat the rising cost of college that students across the country are facing. The faculty cohort that started the work of adapting material began their efforts in the Winter of 2018 with the goal of adding 20 OER classes by the end of 2020.
In 2018, the Florida Virtual Campus Office of Distance Learning and Services did a study on textbook costs and their negative impact on the ability of students to pursue their higher education goals. The study concluded that 64% of students did not purchase the required textbooks for their classes, while 43% reported taking fewer classes because of the high cost of textbooks.
The Washtenaw Community College Faculty Librarian Molly Ledermann talked about the benefits of the OER program for students, saying, “That’s why this new pathway is so important and exciting. When we met and surpassed that initial goal of adding 20 courses within two years, we set a new goal of discovering at least one Z-Degree pathway by 2023 and we were able to do that by the Fall of 2022.”
Not every available course at Washtenaw has an OER option, but the school’s goal is to find as many no-cost alternatives for students as possible, such as replacing high enrollment introductory level classes with high textbook costs with OER alternatives.
Faculty at the school are working to develop and adapt more OER content for Environmental Science, Communications, and Mathematics classes to be used in the next academic year.
Natalie Fisher is a 20-year-old student at Washtenaw Community College who is pursuing the school’s Paralegal Studies program and is taking this semester's iteration of Business Law I. Faculty member Doug Waters made an OER to replace the class’s textbook, which would normally cost $226. Fisher talked about the benefits those savings provide: “Paying big money for a textbook can really put a cap on learning,” said Fisher, who transferred from an in-state four-year university where she purchased or rented a textbook for every class. The two classes she’s currently taking at WCC this semester have zero associated textbook costs. “Providing that material as part of your education really helps a lot, particularly when you have other bills to pay,” said Fisher.
Another student, 23-year-old Avion WIlliams, is working on earning a transfer degree in Liberal Arts at Washtenaw, and was able to use OER materials to prevent having to spend $269 on the textbook previously used for her Physical Geology class. She also was able to save money on the textbook costs for her Introduction to Psychology class thanks to OER.
“Paying for textbooks is really another added pressure for college students to come up with money to pay out of their pocket. I always pay attention to textbook costs when I’m choosing the classes I’m registering for, but sometimes you can’t avoid that expense. It’s really nice when you can,” she said.
More information about Washtenaw Community College’s Open Educational Resource program can be found on the program's webpage, and general information about Washtenaw Community College can be found at the school’s website.