Often students forego purchasing required materials and get by with older editions, pirated downloads that may expose their computers to viruses or without the textbooks at all. The same article reports, "In a 2022 survey of nearly 12,000 students, the National Association of College Stores (NCES) found that 1 in 4 students did not obtain at least one of their course materials."

For many students and families already struggling to afford a college degree, that is simply too costly – and results in more debt, working longer hours, or, most critically, making choices that undermine academic success.



Textbook Market

The textbook market does not work like a normal consumer market. Students are effectively a “captive market” because they are required to purchase whatever materials they have been assigned, regardless of whether they think the price is fair or not. Professors make purchasing decisions on behalf of students, and they may not be as price-sensitive or may not have full information about the price. As a result, textbook publishers are in a position of disproportionate power to set prices higher than they could normally get away with. 

The textbook market is also broken because there is a lack of competition. Three major publishers controlled more than 80% of the $3.2 billion textbook market according to 2018 data. While the growth of OER has started to offer some measure of competition, particularly in high-enrollment courses, major companies do not face serious competition on price.  

Benefits of OER

Open education promotes equity in higher education.  The growing cost of higher education, including significant increases in the cost of learning materials, disadvantages students who are in financial need or are part of traditionally underserved groups. A recent study at the University of Georgia found that while using OER improved end-of-course grades and decreased DFW (D, F, and Withdrawal letter grades) for all students, these improvements were greater for Pell Grant recipients, part-time students, and populations historically underserved by higher education.

OER benefits faculty as well. Faculty are not limited by or tethered to the chapters of a textbook. OER gives faculty the freedom to revise, repurpose, or reuse openly-licensed materials.  Faculty can craft together chapters and information from multiple sources to meet their learning objectives as well as revise OER with current research to provide the most recent information.  In addition, faculty and students can work together to co-create assignments and materials. Students can learn in ways that are meaningful and personalized.