{"id":2189,"date":"2023-01-11T09:30:06","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T17:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=2189"},"modified":"2025-09-26T12:19:22","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T19:19:22","slug":"student-survey-textbook-costs-oer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/student-survey-textbook-costs-oer\/","title":{"rendered":"Oregon State surveys students, collects local data to advocate for zero-cost textbooks"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Editor’s note:<\/strong> This story was originally published on the Oregon State University Division of Educational Ventures news site<\/a>. It is a companion piece to a blog post by Stefanie Buck, director of OSU’s Open Educational Resources Unit, on the Open Oregon Educational Resources website<\/a>.<\/div>\n
\n

We all know soaring textbook costs have a negative impact on students.<\/p>\n

What many people don\u2019t recognize is that these costs often go beyond a student\u2019s bank account \u2014\u00a0impacting their focus, engagement, attrition and overall success in class.<\/p>\n

Take, for example, results from a 2018 Florida survey<\/a> which found that 64%-66% of students often don\u2019t buy the required textbook for a course<\/strong>. Additionally, some students don\u2019t take a class<\/strong> or withdraw from a class<\/strong> because of textbook costs. A 2021 survey from U.S. Public Interest Research Group<\/a> surfaced similar patterns.<\/p>\n

These numbers didn\u2019t surprise Stefanie Buck, director of the Open Educational Resources Unit<\/a> at Oregon State University Ecampus. But they didn\u2019t satisfy her either.<\/p>\n

Buck wanted to get a better understanding of how textbook costs affect Oregon State students specifically. To find out, she ran a modified version of the Florida survey at Oregon State in March 2022.<\/p>\n

This was a time-intensive process that included getting IRB review, building the survey in Qualtrics and creating a distribution plan that would promote a higher response rate. While it was not an easy process, the results were enlightening.<\/p>\n

Four key takeaways from the Oregon State survey results<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. 61% of respondents do not purchase their textbooks because of cost
    \n<\/strong>This means that in any given class, half the students may not have the textbook. However, it\u2019s important to point out that many students said they did not purchase the textbook because they were unsure if they would need it. According to open-ended responses, many waited until the second or third week to purchase the textbook. This warrants further investigation and is an important reminder to faculty \u2014 there should be no precedent for requiring costly textbooks that ultimately go unopened.<\/li>\n
  2. Students engage in various behaviors to reduce the cost of their textbooks
    \n<\/strong>Strategies include sharing the textbook with a friend, using the library reserves or downloading an illegal copy. Some didn\u2019t purchase the textbook and \u201choped for the best.\u201d Buck also found that 38% don\u2019t register for a course<\/strong>, 5% take fewer classes<\/strong>, 18% drop a course<\/strong> and 14% withdraw<\/strong> from a course because of textbook costs. This delays degree completion for students and means a potential loss of tuition revenue for these departments.<\/li>\n
  3. Textbook costs impact students of color more
    \n<\/strong>Buck modified the Florida survey to include questions about the ethnicity, Pell-eligibility and first-generation status of respondents. Across these three groupings, she found that traditionally underrepresented students were more likely to take fewer courses and drop courses. They were also more likely to withdraw from a course and to self-identify as having \u201cfailed a course because I could not afford to buy the textbook.\u201d Textbook costs are another barrier for these students, and it is one that faculty can directly impact     by choosing open-source materials.<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Local data DOES matter
    \n<\/strong>Collecting data from Oregon State students did reveal subtle differences in how they respond to textbook costs. For example, Buck found that the drop and withdraw rates are lower for Oregon State respondents than what we see in Florida\u2019s survey results, but a higher rate of OSU respondents identified as choosing to take fewer classes. The latter can be hard to track, so this insight is valuable in considering future actions and outreach. Other OER leaders who choose to survey students at their universities will likely unveil their own unique insights \u2014\u00a0having local data makes a difference in how you move forward.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u201cIt\u2019s not easy to come by good data,\u201d Buck said about running the survey. \u00a0\u201cIn fact, it is downright frustrating on occasion. There is a lot of data that we OER leaders must track and running an institution-wide survey is a daunting task.\u201d<\/p>\n

    But this experience has made it clear to Buck that efforts like these do<\/em> make a difference. She is presenting her findings to faculty and administrators across Oregon State and even presented to OSU\u2019s new president, Jayathi Y. Murthy.<\/p>\n

    Making higher education more affordable is a big priority for Oregon State, and one of Buck\u2019s next audiences will be at the Think Affordable Summit<\/a> on March 7<\/strong>. This event will feature presentations from leaders across Oregon State who are working to reduce the cost-burden of higher education.<\/p>\n

    Want to get involved? Here are some actions you can take:<\/h3>\n
      \n
    1. If you\u2019re an Oregon State instructor, consider using no-cost course materials. Learn more on the OERU website<\/a> or reach out to Stefanie Buck<\/a> to get started.<\/li>\n
    2. If you\u2019re an Oregon State advisor, administrator or faculty member, please register to attend<\/a> the Think Affordable Summit and join us on March 7.<\/li>\n
    3. If you\u2019re an OER leader at your university, consider running your own student survey, so you can better advocate for students. You can learn more about Buck\u2019s process, along with tips and reflections,\u00a0on the Open Oregon blog<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      <\/span> 4<\/span> minute read<\/span><\/span>The results from a 2018 Florida survey found that 64%-66% of students often don\u2019t buy the required textbook for a course. These numbers didn\u2019t surprise Stefanie Buck, director of Oregon State’s Open Educational Resources Unit. But they didn\u2019t satisfy her either. Buck wanted to get a better understanding of how textbook costs affect Oregon State students specifically. To find out, she ran a modified version of the Florida survey at OSU. The results offered four key takeaways.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":2190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6,13,702,679],"tags":[662,659,602,658],"class_list":["post-2189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-ecampus","category-oer","category-educational-ventures","category-leadership-and-innovation","tag-division-of-educational-ventures","tag-oer","tag-oer-at-work","tag-open-educational-resources"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Tiana-Strode-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-zj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2730,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/open-education-week-oer\/","url_meta":{"origin":2189,"position":0},"title":"Oregon State faculty\u2019s use of free textbooks generates millions in student savings","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"March 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Editor's note: This story was originally published on the Oregon State University Division of Educational Ventures news site. Tuition costs are beyond the control of Oregon State University faculty members, but there is a proven way they can make student learning more affordable: by replacing expensive textbooks with free and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A person working on a laptop with a geographic map on the screen, alongside an open textbook titled \"Getting Organized.\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1671,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-environmental-politics-and-policy\/","url_meta":{"origin":2189,"position":1},"title":"OER at Work: Open textbook increases affordability, up-to-date information","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"January 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\"The ability to edit the open source text allows my colleague and I to provide updated information instantaneously. With rapidly changing environmental policy issues in the West, this is needed to stay up-to-date.\" \u2013 OSU School of Public Policy assistant professor Erika Wolters","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo of Erika Wolters, assistant professor in Oregon State University's School of Public Policy, who has edited and adopted open educational resources in her courses.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Erika-Wolters-744x478-201210.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Erika-Wolters-744x478-201210.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Erika-Wolters-744x478-201210.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Erika-Wolters-744x478-201210.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1867,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-commons-open-access\/","url_meta":{"origin":2189,"position":2},"title":"Finding a new, prominent home for Oregon State\u2019s OER","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"September 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon State University\u2019s expanding collection of open educational resources is now available in one of the world\u2019s largest OER repositories, giving users greater access to the university\u2019s no-cost course materials in a single location. OER Commons\u00a0is a freely accessible, online library that invites educators and students at Oregon State and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A person working on a laptop with a geographic map on the screen, alongside an open textbook titled \"Getting Organized.\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/open-access-textbook.jpg?fit=800%2C470&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1687,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-at-work-marine-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":2189,"position":3},"title":"OER at Work: Authoring a marine law open textbook was ‘straightforward and seamless’","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"February 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon State researcher and instructor Holly Campbell says the process of authoring an open textbook on marine law \"was very straightforward and seamless,\" and she advises her faculty colleagues to not hesitate in implementing open educational resources in their classes.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A humpback whale breaches and soars in the air above the ocean. Holly Campbell teaches an ocean law course for Oregon State and uses an open textbook.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/marine-law-open-textbook.jpg?fit=744%2C455&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/marine-law-open-textbook.jpg?fit=744%2C455&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/marine-law-open-textbook.jpg?fit=744%2C455&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/marine-law-open-textbook.jpg?fit=744%2C455&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1421,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-team\/","url_meta":{"origin":2189,"position":4},"title":"Meet Oregon State\u2019s open educational resources team","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"June 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Making high-quality education more affordable for students is a critical priority at Oregon State. That\u2019s the mission that drives OSU\u2019s Open Educational Resources Unit. In order to help faculty and the OSU community better understand why OER are so critical for student success, the OER Unit's leadership team answered a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/valley-library-oer.jpg?fit=744%2C495&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/valley-library-oer.jpg?fit=744%2C495&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/valley-library-oer.jpg?fit=744%2C495&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/valley-library-oer.jpg?fit=744%2C495&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1727,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oer-biological-environmental-engineering\/","url_meta":{"origin":2189,"position":5},"title":"OER at Work: Open textbook is ‘a much more interactive resource’","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"April 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"John Selker is a distinguished professor in Oregon State\u2019s Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering. He and an international colleague are tapping into the wealth of open educational resources through OSU Libraries. Learn about the process, benefits and challenges of implementing OER in his course.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/john-selker-video-grab.jpg?fit=744%2C419&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/john-selker-video-grab.jpg?fit=744%2C419&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/john-selker-video-grab.jpg?fit=744%2C419&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/john-selker-video-grab.jpg?fit=744%2C419&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2189\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}