CMU Faculty help students save money on textbooks

According to Educationdata.org, in 2022-23, college students spent an average of $1,212.00 per year on textbooks, and additional course materials averaged $285.00 per year. Unfortunately, 65% of students surveyed didn’t buy at least some of their textbooks due to costs, and 25% of students worked extra hours to buy materials they needed. Sadly, 11% of students skipped meals to have money to buy items for classes. 

In 2020, the University Library established the Textbooks in the Library program to provide print and/or electronic copies of books assigned in classes with high rates of failure and withdrawals. Print books are available for checkout through Course Reserves, and eBooks are accessible to CMU users from anywhere at any time. While the program has been beneficial, library staff believed more could be done to support students academically. 

In 2024-25, the Libraries’ Open Educational Resources (OER) Committee piloted the Affordable Course Materials Project (ACMP) to provide financial incentives to faculty who are willing to adopt free or low-cost* materials for a course they teach regularly. Faculty who previously participated in the Curriculum and Instructional Services ZenEd project would receive a $500.00 professional development stipend. Faculty members who were starting from scratch would receive a $1,000.00 stipend. Nine faculty members applied, representing five of CMU’s colleges. Two of those faculty members taught their courses with zero-cost materials in Spring 2025. 

Dr. Elizabeth Meadows taught PSY 200G – Psychology for Living Your Best Life. She reported: “On the very first day [of the semester], one student made a point of stopping me after class to say how much she appreciated having the open access readings and not having to pay for anything for this course.” If Dr. Meadows had not participated in the ACMP, the traditionally published textbook she would have assigned to students ranged from $45.00 for a one-semester rental to $188.00 for an outright purchase. Assuming an average cost of $116.50 per book, and with 40 students enrolled in the course, the class savings were $4,660.00! 

Dr. Brittany Bayless Fremion taught HST 496WI, a writing intensive research seminar for History majors. Generally, she would assign students to buy four books from different university presses totaling about $100.00 per student. Instead, the Libraries purchased the books in electronic format for all to use. Dr. Fremion let us know that “Students were both delighted and relieved that they did not have to purchase books for the course.” 

In 2025-26, the OER Committee will both assess the outcomes of the ACMP pilot project and proceed with another round of applications to increase the number of courses on campus that require zero- or low-cost materials. Look out for applications opening again in Fall 2025! 

*The committee defined low-cost as less than $50.00 per student per course.