MHCC MOVES TOWARD AFFORDABLE TEXTBOOKS

Spring Term is nearly here, and with it, plenty of new stress for most students.

Open Educational Resources (OER) can be the answer to reducing one big stress, however: The high cost of many textbooks. 

MHCC leaders know textbook affordability is an issue for most students, and want to do what they can to help students out. A series of events at Mt. Hood in early March celebrating OER helped to share information and build awareness.

The OER events held for MHCC students and staff were organized in part by Collin-Kazu Lewis, Associated Student Government academic affairs representative.

First, on March 4, Lewis and fellow Saints student Chelsea Allison sat on a panel at Portland State University to show support for OER and share their stories on how OER has made going to college easier on them.

On March 5, ASG students hosted a midday event at MHCC where information about OER was given and special guest Amy Hofer, of the Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources, spoke about OER’s importance.

On March 6 there was a training session on OER vs. Free vs. Fair Use, organized by Mt. Hood’s formal Textbook Affordability Team (TAT), which works closely with the MHCC Library.

The following day, students and faculty at Mt. Hood were able to express how OER affects them during an open panel discussion. 

HOW TO LOOK FOR OER

Open Educational Resources are materials with specialized copyright licenses that allow for retention, revision, remixing, reusing, and redistribution of those materials without breaking copyright law – all for free. OER can make a student’s life easier by saving them hundreds of dollars, perhaps in single term, at Mt. Hood or elsewhere.

Most of the time, students are too busy to research the books needed for their courses. Many just nod their heads when an instructor hands out a syllabus with the name of the textbook needed for their class.

OER supporters want teachers and students to know there are other options. 

MHCC offers an easy way for students to choose the course that offers a  low-cost or no-cost textbook. When signing up for a course on the Mt. Hood course search web page, there is a textbook price tab that tells students if the course offers a low- (under $50) or no-cost ($0) textbook. Using an OER textbook is easy – there’s a choice of downloading for free, or buying the print copy for a much lower cost than other books.

Not only do OER materials save money for students, but instructors also have the opportunity to control the books they use to teach students. Mt. Hood’s TAT also can offer grants and faculty incentives for those instructors who choose to write their own books, backed by MHCC Foundation funding.

A BIG HELP

Lewis said he’s had feedback that at least 9 out of 10 students on campus don’t know what OER is.

During the OER sessions, he saw many students excited to learn the new options they have. He noted that OER is still a slow process and requires a lot of change, especially for teachers. He said he has seen how teachers are maybe nervous or scared to change their curriculum, or too comfortable with what they already have, which makes adapting OER a difficult task.

When OER is adopted, though, there are many positives.

Kaylee Kuborn and Dilla Hanifah have both benefited from OER at Mt. Hood, they said.

Hanifah was given an OER textbook written by Jack Green, MHCC math instructor. “It helped me a lot because the money I didn’t have to spend in math, I used for my other expenses,” Hanifah said. “I also feel that a lot of OER textbooks are more clear and the authors narrow it down to the most important topics they want to teach.” 

Kuborn, a political science major student, said she was surprised by the high cost of one textbook when school started, and thought she had to go through the same process for all of her classes. She was surprised when her psychology professor simply said that the web link to the book was on the syllabus. She understood the book was free, but had no idea it was because of OER. 

Now, she says supporting OER is really important because it opens many doors for all students.

“If I’m paying for a higher education I expect the standards to be higher, but just because I can afford certain high-cost books I know some people can’t,” she said. “I’m (not) going to stop advocating for more accessible education.” 

Both Hanifah and Kuborn understand that some teachers may not want to adapt to OER, in order to not hurt authors who make a living from their books. They said they respect teachers’ choices, but still hope more instructors consider being a part of OER.