Course Materials & Textbooks

The out-of-pocket cost of course materials can have a particularly significant impact on student learning outcomes and registration decisions (see 2021-2024 Bayview Analytics surveys, 2022 Florida Virtual Campus survey, 2014 Maryland PIRG survey). On average, each College Park undergraduate student spent $1,250 out of pocket on course materials in the 2024-25 school year. In response to affordability concerns, Maryland's Textbook Transparency Act of 2020 will require University System of Maryland institutions to display course material costs in course catalogs.

In surveys from the Maryland Open Source Textbook (M.O.S.T.) initiative (2016-2023), 52% of Maryland college students reported using their traditional paid course materials 2-3 times per month or less, while 66% said they used their open and affordable course materials 2-3 times per week or more. This suggests that students may be more likely to engage with affordable course materials, including open access and Libraries options.

In accordance with the Best Practices for Textbook Adoption, here are some additional ideas for reducing cost and other access barriers for students:

• Plan ahead. Select course materials as far in advance of the term as possible.
• Look for low-cost materials first. When locating new course materials to assign, start by using keywords from your syllabus to search for relevant open access, free, and UMD Libraries resources. Supplement with materials that students pay for, as needed. Consider whether your workload permits you to customize or create open educational resources (OERs) for your course, whether on your own or in collaboration with colleagues or students.
• Calculate the out-of-pocket costs for students. Take into account the price of course material purchases, subscriptions, and rentals.
• Consider the amount of assigned content. Make sure that a significant portion of each assigned resource will be used in the course. If assigning only a small portion of a larger work (e.g., 1-2 chapters of a book), set up access through Course Reserves instead of having students purchase the entire work, or investigate whether there's an equivalent free or open access resource. If a bookstore textbook comes "bundled" with supplemental materials, determine whether you need to assign those, or if students can instead acquire an "unbundled" edition.
• Assign older editions and check for alternative access options. Compare the newest edition of an assigned textbook with previous versions, and consider whether it's acceptable for students to use an older edition (perhaps supplemented with more recent low-cost materials). Check the UMD library catalog for eBook versions of older editions. If students will need a specific resource like a novel or software program, determine if any alternative access options exist.
• Ensure that students understand how to access materials. The course material marketplace has changed significantly in the past few decades. Without explicit guidance, students may not realize that they can purchase a used copy of a book, access an assigned journal article through the library, or download their required software through Terpware.
• Make sure materials meet accessibility standards, and consider a range of learning preferences. Offer multiple format options for course materials when available (e.g., for a journal article, the database permalink and the PDF).
• Double-check links. If embedding or linking to materials in your syllabus and/or ELMS-Canvas course, double-check that all links still work before each term.
• Take advantage of student feedback. Gather student input across semesters to evaluate the impact of a course material change.
• Explore more ideas for implementing instructional technology and sharing resources with students.