Report 2007-116 Recommendation 31 Responses

Report 2007-116: Affordability of College Textbooks: Textbook Prices Have Risen Significantly in the Last Four Years, but Some Strategies May Help to Control These Costs for Students (Release Date: August 2008)

Recommendation #31 To: University of California

The system offices of UC, CSU, and the community colleges should continue taking steps to promote awareness, development, and adoption of open educational resources as alternatives to textbooks and other learning materials.

60-Day Agency Response

UC stated that it continues its engagement with the CSU and community colleges through its Strategic Publishing and Broadcast Services to develop and promote open educational resources. According to UC, Strategic Publishing and Broadcast Services is also involved in other efforts to create open access textbooks, and instill broader discussions to try to comprehend the arena of textbook affordability for the State's postsecondary segments, as well as for California's K-12 public schools. It also stated that it is working in partnership with the community colleges on the Hewlett-funded Open Textbook Project to create free or low-cost, high-quality textbooks for community college students. In addition, UC explained that as part of its licensing deal for Springer Journals, the California Digital Library recently acquired permanent access to the more than 20,000 e-books that Springer Journal has published between 2005 and 2009. The collections include 1,300 college level textbooks in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics as well as the social science fields. According to UC, all of these e-books are available at no cost to UC faculty, staff, and students who are also able to get print-on-demand copies for less than $25. Furthermore, it also stated that the California Digital Library is exploring opportunities for members of the UC community to purchase or subscribe to Wiley Publishing's online textbooks at a discounted rate. (See 2010-406, p. 161)

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

All Recommendations in 2007-116

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.