Savings without sacrifice: a case report on open-source textbook adoption

ABSTRACT

Rising textbook costs have prompted the development of open-source textbooks to increase access to education. The purpose of this case report is to examine open-source textbook adoption through the COUP framework (costs, outcomes, use, and perceptions) comparing a semester with a commercial textbook to a semester with an open-source textbook. Students (N = 520) were enrolled in an undergraduate course at a mid-sized public university in the United States. Results indicated that although costs were substantially lower, student learning outcomes and perceptions of quality were similar or better with an open-source textbook. Although students were much more likely to access the open-source textbook electronically, there were no differences in how they reported using the two textbooks to support their learning. Considering the financial savings of open-source textbooks, these findings build on existing empirical support that encourage the adoption of open-source textbooks.

KEYWORDS:

• Open-source educational resources
• textbooks
• electronic reading
• open source

Acknowledgments

Courtney Duff, R. Alex Karie, Newzaira Khan, and Stacy Meester are thanked for their assistance with this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The review questions had answers at the end of the textbook.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Virginia Clinton

Virginia Clinton, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Educational Foundations and Research at the University of North Dakota. She holds a masters’ degree in Teaching and Learning from New York University and a doctorate in Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Clinton’s research focuses on affective factors in student cognition and learning.