SCC leads charge to lower textbook costs for students

By Donna Myers

Beginning Winter Quarter, Shoreline Community College students will be able to purchase certain textbooks for $30 or less.

Students who enroll in Paul Herrick’s Intro to Logic, Linda Khandro’s Intro to Oceanography or Federico Marchetti’s Intro to Statistics will have the luxury of purchasing the discounted textbooks as well as access to a world of digital resources.

These classes will be part of a new consortium of 81 classes designed by faculty across the state to help students afford college and textbooks. The instructors are working with eLearning Directors, librarians and others to help identify high quality, affordable textbooks.

Lowering the price of textbooks for students is only a part of the Open Course Library Project that was designed to expand access and success rates for students. Instructors and students will have access to digital resources that have already been proven highly effective for learning and teaching and resources that will be developed by faculty in our state.

The instructors will also have access to new digital resources available through a global open educational resources bank (open educational resources are educational materials and resources offered freely and openly for anyone to use and under some licenses to re-mix, improve and redistribute), as well as content development tools and online learning communities.

The grant, funded through the State Board for Technical and Community Colleges, also provided funding for eLearning and librarian support for SCC faculty members Herrick, Khandro and Marchetti, who each received $15,000 to develop their courses.

The pilot courses will first be offered Winter Quarter 2011.