A Statement of Position in Support the Formation of an Exploratory Committee for Open Source
Textbooks
WHEREAS, textbooks are an essential part of the learning experience in a college environment;
WHEREAS, students have no input on which textbooks are required for classes nor given advanced
notice of the costs of the textbooks for classes before they register, and therefore no choice in prices
paid.
WHEREAS, many students opt to not buy their textbooks at all rather than pay the often exorbitant
prices set by publishing companies often undercutting their own learning;
WHEREAS, the average student spends about $1,200 on textbooks per year, a number that the student
body sees as unnecessarily and unsustainably high.
WHEREAS, new textbook editions come out frequently, some as often as every year, forcing students to
purchase new textbooks at high prices rather than having the option to purchase used textbooks.
WHEREAS, textbook prices have increased 812% over the past 36 years, 4 times the rate of inflation,
which is faster than tuition, healthcare costs, house prices; all of which have increased faster than
inflation;
WHEREAS, Open Source textbooks offer comprehensive solution by providing free material online that is
easy to access and affordable to print written by education professionals under an open license.;
WHEREAS, Open Source textbooks are written by authors who are recognized as experts within their
field and who have received acclaim from the academic community;
WHEREAS, it is the prerogative of faculty to select the course materials that are most appropriate for a
class;
WHEREAS, Open Source textbooks allow for professors to alter course material as they deem necessary;
personalizing education for a fraction of the price of traditional textbooks;
WHEREAS, Open Source textbooks are an economically friendly solution to this costly and unfair
problem;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Undergraduate Student Government urges the administration to
explore options to fix problem of high textbook costs;
THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Undergraduate Student Government requests that the
administration of the University of Connecticut form a formal committee to explore viable solutions,
including Open Source textbooks, in order to implement pilot programs to test their effectiveness;
THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, the Undergraduate Student Government demands student
representation on this exploratory committee.
Author: Daniel Byrd
Sponsors: Soumya Kundu, Connor Ryan