Students in the North Dakota
University System (NDUS) pay an average of $1,100 each year for course
materials. A new plan presented to the state legislature may bring that amount
down.
The proposal would provide funds to
train faculty members in the system to learn about using free online textbooks
in place of traditional textbooks. The North Dakota Board of Higher Education approved
a budget of $500,000, which includes incentives to attract faculty members to
participate in open-textbook training.
“I’m giving them training and the
opportunity to learn about it and faculty who are not interested at all in
doing open textbooks don’t have to, so it’s purely self-selective,” said Tanya
Spilovoy, NDUS director of distance education and state authorization, who
proposed the open-textbook plan to the state legislature.
A partnership with the University of
Minnesota , which created its own free online textbook library in 2012, will
allow NDUS instructors to get accustomed to educational videos and interactive
online tools that have already gone through a vetting process at Minnesota. Becoming
comfortable with digital course material is an important part of the process,
according to David Ernst, chief information officer at the Minnesota College of
Education and Human Development.
“In higher education, faculty’s
academic freedom is probably the most important thing they have,” Ernst said.
“Their right to choose their course material, basically anything academic, is
their call and all we can do and all that’s appropriate to do is educate them
about open education resources, specifically open textbooks. You answer
questions and help remove barriers.”
