At its meeting on April 10, 2019, the UNT Student Government Association Student Senate passed a resolution supporting the creation of open educational resources (OER):

WHEREAS, The increasing costs associated with higher education in the United States is a great concern to most current and prospective students.

WHEREAS, Undergraduate students have said that they had to skip buying required textbooks because the cost was too high to prioritize other needs

WHEREAS, Less than half of college students now purchase a current version of their assigned textbook – opting for older editions or unauthorized copies.

WHEREAS, In a study of an Open Educational Resources project in Washington State, students saved about 90% over the cost of traditional materials, and the cumulative savings of $5.5 million have more than tripled the states investment in the project and will on continue to grow.

WHEREAS, The Affordable College Textbook Act (ACTA) (S.1704/H.R.3538) seeks to reduce the cost of textbooks at U.S. colleges and universities by expanding the use of open textbooks and other open educational resources that everyone can use, adapt and share freely.

WHEREAS, The annual costs per student associated with educational/course textbooks total approximately $1,200.

WHEREAS, The affordability of higher education is a looming concern which threatens to limit access to the many opportunities higher education provides.

LET IT BE RESOLVED THAT, SGA recommend the creation of Open Educational Resources.

LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED, That this Resolution be sent to

1. President: Neal Smatresk: Neal.Smatresk@unt.edu

2. Provost: Dr. Jennifer Cowley: Jennifer.Cowley@unt.edu

3. Dean of Libraries: Diane Bruxvoort: Diane.Bruxvoort@unt.edu

4. Faculty Senate Chair: Sheri Broyles: Sheri.Broyles@unt.edu

Book Industry Study Group (2013). Student Attitudes Toward Content in Higher Education, Volume Three [press release]. http://www.bisg.org/news-5-815-press-releasestudent-response-to-digital-textbooks-climbs-says-new-bisg-study.php

EDUCAUSE (2013). Understanding What Higher Education Needs from E-Textbooks: An EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Pilot. http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/understanding-what-higher-education-needs-e-textbooks-educauseinternet2-pilot

Florida Virtual Campus. (2012). 2012 Florida Student Textbook Survey.

http://www.openaccesstextbooks.org/%5Cpdf%5C2012_Florida_Student_Textbook_Survey.pdf

Graydon, B., Urbach-Buholz, B., Kohen, C. (2011). A Study of Four Textbook Distribution Models. EDUCAUSE Quarterly, v34 n4. http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/study-four-textbook-distribution-models

Hilton III, J., & Laman, C. (2012). One college’s use of an open psychology textbook. The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 27(3), 265-272.

Hilton III, J. L., Robinson, T. J., Wiley, D., & Ackerman, J. D. (2014). Cost-savings achieved in two semesters through the adoption of open educational resources. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 15(2). http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1700

Koch, J. (2013). Turning the Page. http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/Turning_the_page.pdf

OpenStax College. (2014). Our textbooks have saved students $30 million [press release].