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The high and still rising costs of college textbooks have created a financial burden for most students, with many reporting that they have skipped meals to afford books or even compromised their educations. According to Follett, an education technology company, textbook prices have gone up more than 800% since 1978. In a 2018 study by Cengage, a global education and technology company, 43% of current and former students said they have skipped meals to afford books and 31% said they take fewer classes to cut down on textbook costs. At 91��Ƭ��, OER charges vary by course, but are substantially less than textbooks.

For 91��Ƭ�� students enrolled in English classes, the OER textbooks are home grown. With new 91��Ƭ��-authored English OER textbooks, offered for the first time during the 2018-19 academic year, students in EG 101 Comp I and EG 102 Comp II classes saw their textbook tab for each class drop from as much as $240 to just $10. In Fall 2020, an LT 201 Introduction to Literature course OER was added, and in Fall 2022, an EG 060 Fundamentals of English OER, both for $10. Given the number of students who have taken the English and Literature courses since the changes, there have been over 1.8 million dollars in savings.

While that is significant, it is just the beginning.