Faculty will receive monetary rewards for saving students money
by cutting the costs of textbooks through innovative programs
COLUMBUS - Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Chancellor Eric D. Fingerhut announced today that the University System of Ohio will offer a discount on electronic books in an agreement with the nation's leading publishers and will reward faculty who find innovative ways to hold down the price of textbooks.
The University System of Ohio sponsored a symposium in April 2008 on textbook affordability as part of the stated goal in Chancellor Fingerhut's 10-Year Strategic Plan for Higher Education to hold down costs for college students who are struggling to afford an education.
"The price of textbooks is often seen as a barrier to some students who want to enroll in our colleges and universities," Strickland said. "The University System of Ohio is taking these important steps to tackle the rising price of textbooks and ensure that no student is prevented from going to college because of his or her financial situation."
The discounts on electronic books and the monetary rewards to faculty members will lead to further savings for students in the future.
More Choices for Students - E-Textbooks
Through a partnership with CourseSmart, a provider of electronic textbooks from the six largest commercial publishers in the United States, the University System of Ohio will offer half or more off the print price of the majority of active textbooks from these publishers to students enrolled in public and private colleges and universities and adult learning programs.
This is the first partnership between a university system and CourseSmart, which will offer nearly all of its digital textbooks at discounts of 50 to 55 percent off the new print price list. CourseSmart currently offers more than 4,000 titles, and over time more text books will be included in the program so that the opportunity for student savings will increase.
Using http://textbooks.uso.edu, students can purchase textbooks through CourseSmart's catalogue. Students will also have the opportunity to save through CourseSmart at campus bookstores participating in the program.
Through a separate partnership with XanEdu, the national leader in "course packs" (articles, cases, textbook chapters, and other copyrighted materials), students will also now have increased access to more digital materials that supplement textbooks.
Innovator Grants and Awards for Faculty
The University System of Ohio has also launched a competitive grant and faculty award program that recognizes and rewards efforts to make learning materials more affordable.
University System of Ohio Textbook Affordability Grants
The new University System of Ohio Textbook Affordability Grant program makes $250,000 available to faculty teams who develop, build, and package collections of course materials offered free to students. The University System of Ohio will fund as many as five projects up to $50,000 per course offering. Responses to the RFP issued August 27, 2008, are due to the Ohio Board of Regents by November 15, 2008. Details are posted at www.uso.edu.
University System of Ohio Faculty Innovator Awards
Ten outstanding faculty members at University System of Ohio institutions who find innovative ways to develop course materials that pass savings along to students will receive the first set of University System of Ohio Faculty Innovator Awards. The 10 winners will be chosen from nominations by students, administrators, and other faculty members to receive $1,000 cash awards.
Creative uses of digital content, for example, would include incorporating video, simulations, e-texts and journals, and visualizations in course materials. Nominations are due by 5 p.m. (EST) on September 30, 2008, and will be reviewed by a panel of state and national reviewers.
"These programs will reduce student expenses and reward faculty who apply their substantial intellectual property into reusable course materials that can be delivered without the costly overhead of traditional publishing," said Chancellor Fingerhut.
"As we begin the second year of the University System of Ohio, I am pleased that we are seeing more of these initiatives that make Ohio's outstanding higher education offerings affordable and flexible. Higher education is the greatest driver of economic recovery and growth, and the more programs that attract students, graduate them, and keep them here to support Ohio businesses, the better for all the citizens of Ohio."
The University System of Ohio consists of 14 universities, 24 branch campuses, 23 community colleges, and more than 200 adult workforce education centers and training programs. For more information, visit www.uso.edu.
Posted 08/28/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Posting of press releases is done as a service to Members and does not imply endorsement or support by NASFAA. NASFAA does not review this information for content or accuracy.
