Burn your books

Free textbooks may be in store for De Anza students by 2009. The Foothill-De Anza Community College District is warming up to the idea of a free, open-source textbook project that could start as soon as next year.

An April 29 press release stated, "Representatives of dozens of colleges, universities and other non profit and academic organizations will meet in California … to launch a pioneering national project: Creation of high-quality, accessible and culturally relevant textbooks for community college students that will be freely available on the internet."

In 2005, the Government Accountability Office reported that textbook prices have increased at twice the rate of inflation in the 20 years since 1985. In the period from December 1986 to December 2004 textbooks prices almost tripled.

The same report disclosed that during the 2003-2004 academic year, students attending two-year colleges paid an average of $886 for books and supplies. These costs account for almost three quarters of the total cost of a student's tuition and fees.

"Making free and low-cost open textbooks available to community college students will help reduce the escalating costs of higher education," stated District Chancellor Martha Kanter in an FHDA press release.

The national Campaign to Reduce College Textbook Costs released a statement signed by 1,000 college professors from 300 colleges in 50 states on April 18 declaring their preference for high-quality, affordable textbooks, including open textbooks over expensive commercial textbooks.

The District open-source textbook project will be jump started by an initial $530,000 grant by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, a principal leader of funding freely available digital learning materials geared toward any student with Internet access. The Hewlett board awarded the one-year grant on March 17, the press release stated.

Judy Baker, Dean of the Global Access Program at Foothill College and Director of the Community College Open Textbook Project, said that after that initial financial push, there are four long term sustainability models being considered for this project. The first model involves Internet startup company Flat World Knowledge LLC.

Flat World Knowledge provides, at no cost, brief textbooks that have been written and edited by leading industry professionals. It holds an open license through creative commons, and allows teachers to delete items, reorganize chapters and edit sentences freely to create a custom textbook.

Flat World Knowledge LLC is scheduled for a full on commercial launch in 2009, Baker said. Students in certain classes would be able to access this free textbook through an online Web site created by their teachers.

Another model includes Connexions, a global repository of open educational content founded at Rice University. Like on Flat World knowledge LLC, contributors on Connexions write small lesson packets, such as those on photosynthesis or the three branches of government. Teachers can use these lessons one at a time or DJ them amongst each other for their students, although the original courses and their lesson orders remain saved on the website. Connexions has already accumulated nearly hundreds courses and more than 3,300 lessons.

Open-source educational programs have been gaining steam in recent years. The University of California's College Prep Online, which provides Advanced Placement and other courses via the Internet, and the Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources a community of educators have already committed to developing open educational resources.

"We are trying to include the managers at [college] bookstores in on this project," Baker said. "They could access the same online information and sell a printed version to students at a marked up price. It would eliminate the need for the bookstore to send back books that aren't purchased, consequently alleviating shipping costs."

Baker's team is currently conducting a one year feasibility study to figure out what open-source textbook program will work for the faculty and students, though "certain questions linger in their heads," Baker said.

"Will the faculty find the online textbooks awkward? Will the students find the online textbooks awkward? We don't know yet. That is ultimately what this year is about, finding out what works."

The bookstore is planning to start a textbook rental program next quarter in which students would pay approximately 30 percent of the retail price to rent a textbook for the quarter. Due to limited space, the initial foray would be a limited pilot project based on available funds and space.

The Academic Senate will flesh out guidelines to determine which books get chosen. Suggested books were those used often before being replaced with newer editions, expensive books over cheaper ones and books for general education courses, because G.E. students are less likely to keep their books."