Abstract
Open textbooks are a type of Open Educational Resource (OER). They present educators with an alternative to commercial textbooks, afford students and educators permissions granted by open licenses, and reduce student costs. The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine how educators evaluate the quality of open textbooks. We analyzed 954 educator reviews of 235 unique open textbooks. American postsecondary educators authored the reviews between April 2014 and March 2017 and the Open Education Network (OEN; formerly the Open Textbook Network, https://open. umn.edu/otn/collected) and openly published the reviews in the Open Textbook Library (OTL, https://open.umn.edu/opentext- books/), unedited and with Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licenses (CC BY 4.0). Overall, reviewers found the open textbooks to be of sufficient quality for use. The reviews provide insight into educator concerns and interests regarding the quality and characteristics of open textbooks and may support peer educators’ consideration, and authors’ and publishers’ creation and revision, of open textbooks.
Highlights
While for many students pursuing postsecondary education is a priority, the cost of higher education is often a barrier
When we compiled the set of reviews, it comprised all of the reviews that the Open Education Network (OEN) collected during that time period and 69% of the 1,375 reviews were collected from OEN and included in the OTL
Our study adds to the research literature by analyzing comprehensive open textbook reviews authored by a large number of educators who possess disciplinary expertise and familiarity with comparable commercial textbooks
Summary
While for many students pursuing postsecondary education is a priority, the cost of higher education is often a barrier. The costs of textbooks and course materials increase students’ higher education expenses and U.S institutions suggested that students budget $1,002-$1,504 for books and supplies in 2017–2018 (The Institute for College Access & Success, 2019). While course material costs are only part of the significant expense students face pursuing higher education, these costs may negatively influence student behaviors and choices related to academic success. Postsecondary administrators and faculty appreciate that course materials costs are problematic and concerning (Seaman & Seaman, 2020), and in response to the Ithaka S+R US Faculty Survey 2018 (2019), seven in 10 faculty “indicated that reducing the cost that students pay for textbooks and other course materials is highly important” Postsecondary administrators and faculty appreciate that course materials costs are problematic and concerning (Seaman & Seaman, 2020), and in response to the Ithaka S+R US Faculty Survey 2018 (2019), seven in 10 faculty “indicated that reducing the cost that students pay for textbooks and other course materials is highly important” (p. 47)
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