Saturday, October 15, 2016

Rhode Island Open Textbook Initiative to Save Students $5 Million Annually - Sri Ravipati, Campus Technology

The governor of Rhode Island launched an initiative that aims to save college students $5 million a year by switching out traditional textbooks with openly licensed textbooks. Governor Gina Raimondo introduced the Rhode Island Open Textbook Initiative to combat the steep prices of traditional textbooks, citing that textbook prices “have nearly doubled over the last decade,” according to a news release. The Rhode Island Office of Innovation (InnovateRI) will lead the initiative through its partnership with Adams Library, located at Rhode Island College (RIC). RIC launched a pilot program this school year that so far has saved students $100,000 by switching to an openly licensed textbook for a biology course, according a news release. https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/09/28/rhode-island-open-textbook-initiative-to-save-students-5-million-annually.aspx