We’re pleased to announce the publication of the first of two reports resulting from new research to analyze, pilot, and evaluate affordable course material models. This project, conducted with funding from ECMC Foundation, provides us with the opportunity to document how course affordability programs are working in practice and understand the support they need to thrive. Over the past year, Empire State University has collaborated with Ithaka S+R, Monroe Community College, and SUNY Canton to explore these issues.

Balancing Affordability and Access documents the initial phase of our comprehensive research study on textbook affordability. The report shares findings from an environmental scan comprising a literature review, stakeholder interviews, and policy analysis conducted over the past nine months.

This work elucidates an incredibly complex landscape that, while reducing textbook costs for many students, creates a complicated network of digital resources that faculty and students are still learning to navigate. Our literature review and interviews have made clear that both faculty and students struggle to understand and master the complex infrastructure, rights, and means by which to acquire course materials in affordable ways.

The report highlights several findings from this research, including:

  • Stakeholders have different perceptions on the impact of textbook affordability models. While some believe that current models have driven down prices for students, others think models such as Inclusive and Equitable Access remove students’ agency in how they purchase their course materials.[1]
  • Digital formats are key to many affordability models, but digital textbooks are exacerbating the digital divide. Affordable textbook alternatives often rely on digital formats that can be distributed through learning management systems. This approach increases access to required materials for the duration of the class. Not all students, however, have reliable access to the internet and not all faculty have the requisite skills to navigate these materials.
  • Many regard Open Educational Resources (OER) as the primary solution for the textbook affordability problem. Some stakeholders believe OER should replace other textbook alternatives, such as inclusive access, while others believe that OER should be used in tandem with traditional resources.
  • Digital courseware provides data on student usage but may not offer sufficient privacy safeguards. Digital courseware often includes interactive and multi-modal features, increased accessibility options for students, and built-in analytics that allow educators to track student engagement with assigned materials. While student usage data may be useful information for publishers and faculty, it is imperative to have greater transparency in how this student data is used and protected. The increasing integration of AI into course materials needs further investigation.

In the next phase of this project, we will interview faculty from across the three participating SUNY institutions and conduct a large-scale survey of students. We are pleased with the opportunity to conduct this stakeholder research to augment the findings of this environmental scan and look forward to synthesizing our collective findings in a forthcoming publication.

[1] Inclusive Access is an automatic textbook billing model that embeds the cost of digital course materials into tuition or fees. Equitable Access, however, denotes an institution-wide course materials model that charges a flat-rate fee to provide students with access to required materials and resources.