Faculty Publications
Subtitle
Empowering Student Voice in Advocacy for OER and Textbook Affordability
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Keywords
OER, Open Educational Resources, Student Library Committees, Student Government, Library Advocacy
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Journal of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education
Volume
3
Issue
1
First Page
182
Last Page
196
Abstract
Engaging college students in advocacy related to open educational resources (OER) is an important way to raise awareness and encourage OER adoption on campuses in higher education. The student perspective is vital to encouraging instructors and administrators to be responsive to student needs, concerns, and preferences related to course materials access, and to consider affordability and usage rights. This case study describes the library-facilitated Textbook Equity Student Advisory Board at the University of Northern Iowa, a medium-sized regional comprehensive university. The board serves as a two-way communication outlet between textbook equity campus leaders and students, including student government. This article covers how and why the group was formed and the benefits and challenges of forming and running such a group. The group's scope, like the campus-wide program it informs, includes OER and related topics such as automatic textbook billing, library-licensed resources as course materials, and more. Recommendations for implementing similar groups are provided.
Department
Rod Library
Original Publication Date
2025
Object Description
1 PDF File
DOI of published version
10.31274/joerhe.17910
Repository
UNI ScholarWorks, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa
Copyright
©2025 The Author(s)
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Colby, K.M. & Gruber, A.M. (2025). A textbook equity student advisory board: Empowering student voice in advocacy for OER and textbook affordability. Journal of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education, 3(1), 182-196. https://doi.org/10.31274/joerhe.17910
Comments
First published in Journal of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education, v3 i1 (2025) published by Iowa State University Digital Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31274/joerhe.17910