Bill Overview
Title: Affordable College Textbook Act
Description: This bill directs the Department of Education to make grants to institutions of higher education or states to support projects that expand the use of open textbooks in order to achieve savings for students while maintaining or improving instruction and student learning outcomes. An open textbook is an educational resource that either resides in the public domain or has been released under an intellectual license that permits its free use, reuse, modification, and sharing with others.
Sponsors: Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2]
Target Audience
Population: College and university students
Estimated Size: 19400000
- The main beneficiaries of the act will be students in higher education, specifically those who are burdened by the cost of purchasing traditional college textbooks.
- Institutions of higher education will also be impacted as they might need to adjust their curriculum or resources to accommodate open textbooks.
- Educators and faculty members will need to evaluate and possibly modify curriculum to incorporate open textbooks into their teaching.
- There might be an indirect impact on traditional textbook publishers due to a potential reduction in sales.
Reasoning
- Only college students and possibly faculty are considered, so we will include a mix of both to understand the different viewpoints.
- The $40 million budget for the first year means only a subset of institutions can participate, so we'll simulate people from a mix of participating and non-participating institutions.
- The act aims to reduce textbook costs. We'll explore how this impacts students at different socioeconomic levels.
- Traditional textbook publishers' potential perspectives are important but not directly simulated as the policy primarily targets students and educators.
Simulated Interviews
student (California)
Age: 20 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 4.0 years
Commonness: 15/20
Statement of Opinion:
- The cost of textbooks is a huge burden for me. I often have to choose between buying books and other basic needs.
- If textbooks were cheaper or free, it would relieve a lot of financial pressure.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 5 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 20 | 6 | 4 |
student (New York)
Age: 22 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 5
Duration of Impact: 3.0 years
Commonness: 10/20
Statement of Opinion:
- I've spent hundreds on textbooks each semester, so reducing that cost would be amazing.
- I don’t mind paying for quality books, but if open textbooks provide similar value, why not go for them?
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 2 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 10 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 20 | 5 | 4 |
university professor (Texas)
Age: 45 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 10.0 years
Commonness: 7/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Switching to open textbooks could take some initial adjustment in the curriculum.
- I'm excited to explore creative commons materials because it could make learning more accessible for my students.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 9 | 7 |
| Year 20 | 8 | 6 |
graduate student (Florida)
Age: 28 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 5
Duration of Impact: 2.0 years
Commonness: 8/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Textbooks for my MBA program are extremely expensive.
- Using open access materials would significantly reduce my debt accumulation.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 10 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 20 | 5 | 4 |
community college student (Ohio)
Age: 19 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 5
Duration of Impact: 1.0 years
Commonness: 12/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Community colleges are supposed to be affordable, but books are still a huge cost.
- Open textbooks could make it easier for me to save money to transfer later.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 10 | 5 | 5 |
| Year 20 | 4 | 4 |
library technician (Oregon)
Age: 30 | Gender: other
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 5.0 years
Commonness: 7/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Open textbooks offer equitable access for all students, a majority of whom can't afford commercial textbook prices.
- This policy complements our library's mission to support academic success. I think it will increase demand for library services.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 6 | 5 |
student athlete (Georgia)
Age: 20 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 3.0 years
Commonness: 6/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Extracurricular activities make textbook costs even more stressful.
- I'm hopeful open resources will ease this burden.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 20 | 5 | 5 |
tenured professor (Illinois)
Age: 52 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 8
Duration of Impact: 10.0 years
Commonness: 5/20
Statement of Opinion:
- I worry about the long-term impact on traditional publishing and academic freedom.
- However, using open materials could stimulate innovation in teaching practices.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 8 |
| Year 20 | 6 | 7 |
student (Pennsylvania)
Age: 24 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 5
Duration of Impact: 3.0 years
Commonness: 14/20
Statement of Opinion:
- The high price of textbooks means I have to cut back on other personal expenses.
- Open resources would immediately improve my education affordability.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 10 | 6 | 4 |
| Year 20 | 5 | 4 |
student (Washington)
Age: 21 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 2.0 years
Commonness: 11/20
Statement of Opinion:
- I'm interested in how open educational resources can encourage greener practices in publishing.
- Cost savings are definitely appealing as a student paying my own fees.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 5 | 5 |
Cost Estimates
Year 1: $40000000 (Low: $30000000, High: $50000000)
Year 2: $42000000 (Low: $31500000, High: $52500000)
Year 3: $44000000 (Low: $33000000, High: $55000000)
Year 5: $48000000 (Low: $36000000, High: $60000000)
Year 10: $0 (Low: $0, High: $0)
Year 100: $0 (Low: $0, High: $0)
Key Considerations
- Ensuring quality and accessibility of open textbooks is crucial to success and adoption.
- Potential resistance from traditional publishers could affect the pace of adoption.
- Collaboration among educational institutions, faculty, and content creators is critical to effectively leverage these resources.
- The scalability of open textbook projects will depend heavily on technological infrastructure at various educational institutions.