According to a recent article in Forbes online, “Since 1978…college textbooks have risen 812 percent — more than twice as fast as the price of a new home”. The article goes on to state that the main cause for this increase is that the textbook industry is controlled by a small number of powerful publishers. While Community Colleges can already take pride in the fact that they offer students low-cost, high quality academic alternatives to 4-year colleges, there is now a similar alternative for expensive textbooks.

In recent years, a grassroots effort to promote Open Educational Resources (OERs) has really been picking up steam. Briefly described, OERs are free, electronic, publicly accessible materials that offer equivalent content to a traditional textbook. In addition to having no cost, these materials can be updated at any time due to their electronic format.

Two common questions related to OERs are how they are able to be free and, at the same time, retain a quality comparable to traditional textbooks. Regarding the cost (or lack thereof), publishers of OERs rely on generous support from donors like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to compensate content creators. To ensure academic rigor, OERs are peer-reviewed, just like traditional textbooks.