在过去的30年里，美国(以及其他许多国家)的大学教科书价格飞涨。Two-thirds of college studentssay that they’ve delayed buying a textbook because it was too expensive—even though90% of those studentsworry that not having the textbook will affect their course grade. In addition, more than80% of facultyagree that the cost of course materials is a serious problem.
Against this backdrop, a new sales model known as “Inclusive Access” has taken off. Also known as automatic textbook billing, this model adds the cost of digital course content into students’ tuition and fees. Hardly known five years ago,one in three college studentsreported participating in at least one Inclusive Access course during the 2020-21 academic year.
How exactly does Inclusive Access work? Does it really really save students money? What about this kind of program is “inclusive”? Straightforward answers to these questions aren’t always easy to find.
InclusiveAccess.orgis a community-driven initiative to raise awareness of the facts about automatic textbook billing. The site aims to be a one-stop shop for information, tools, and other resources that can helpadministrators,faculty,students, andpolicymakersmake smart decisions about how to address textbook costs on campus.
InclusiveAccess.org was developed bySPARCwith generous support from theMichelson 20MM Foundation.Partnersinclude AAC&U, Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, Creative Commons, DigiTex, Student PIRGs, Open Education Global, and OpenStax. The initiative is also forming an advisory committee with representation from a broad range of stakeholders across higher education.
Creative Commons and our partners hope that InclusiveAccess.org will help decision makers fully consider and understand how automatic textbook billing can impact their institution and students. We also hope that it empowers students to ask important questions about how they are charged for textbooks, and to exercise freedom over how they access course materials.
Check back atInclusiveAccess.orgregularly for updates on the latest facts, news, and case studies on automatic textbook billing, as well as additional tools and resources. Join theemail listand follow@TextbookBillingto get involved.
Of course, the problem of high textbook costs can be solved with CC-licensedOpen Educational Resources (OER)as a way to promote more equitable access to course materials. See theUNESCO Recommendation on OERfor actions your government and/or educational institution can take to support open education resources, practices and policy.
