Photo // Chloe Garner
OPEN SEASON. SGA Parliamentarian Daniel Edmonds tables for the SGA’s Open Educational Resources campaign in EA on Oct. 15.
By: Mira Costello
Editor-in-Chief
Throughout October, the Student Government Association has spearheaded a project to promote Open Educational Resources – free, open-source learning materials – at IU South Bend.
SGA members tabled around campus from Oct. 14 to Oct. 17, encouraging students to take a survey about their experiences with educational resources. Of 63 respondents, most reported that they spent around $300 on textbooks this semester, with some reporting amounts over $800.
Additionally, 17% of respondents said they have chosen to drop or not enroll in a class because of the cost of the assigned textbook, and 69% said they have chosen not to buy an assigned textbook because of the price.
SGA President Chloe Garner explained that she does not think cost should be a barrier to education for any student, especially at IU South Bend, where many students are highly budget conscious.
“A lot of our students are working full time or part time, paying for college on their own, having to support families, so that’s why they come here,” Garner said. “Having to not pay for a textbook would be so helpful for them, and that’s a huge part of why we’re trying to push this.”
Garner explained that Open Educational Resources are not the same as pirating a textbook online or just looking at a typical website. These academic resources are instead released into the public domain with authors’ consent. OERs can range from journal articles and recorded lectures to free tools and lessons through third-party platforms like Duolingo and Poynter.
She also explained that publishing an OER has lower barriers to entry than traditional publishing, which can exclude certain works.
“A lot more female authors, authors of color, underrepresented groups are able to publish textbooks on these platforms, which is really enhancing our education as well because we have those different perspectives,” Garner said.
As part of their initiative, the SGA sent thank-you letters to professors who already use OERs instead of traditional textbooks. Garner said only 22 IU South Bend faculty currently use OERs, most of whom are in departments including anthropology, sociology, physics and math.
The SGA will vote on a resolution about OERs at their Nov. 1 meeting, which they hope will encourage faculty to make the switch to these resources. Garner said she is hopeful that the resolution will pass the student senate, but it will then be presented to the faculty senate by SGA Chief of Staff Brooke Belork, and Garner is unsure how they will respond.
She said many faculty have expressed resistance to switching completely to OERs because it can be more time-consuming to source high-quality information.
“We’re hoping that with the data, faculty will be more inclined to want to implement it, but I honestly don’t know,” she said.
Garner said that even if faculty are not ready to switch to OERs, she hopes they will be intentional about their textbook choices, such as by allowing students to purchase an older, more affordable edition of a textbook, rather than an expensive new edition with minimal information changed.
To add your name to the SGA’s petition encouraging the use of OERs in the classroom, scan the QR code attached to this story.
