Open and Affordable Textbooks Program Reduces Textbook Costs for Students

More faculty than ever before are participating in a program through the Rutgers University Libraries to provide open and affordable textbooks for the fall.

The program is estimated to be able to save over 16,400 students a total of more than $2.1 million in the cost of textbooks and other course materials over the next year.

The initiative is estimated to be able to save over 16,400 students a total of more than $2.1 million in the cost of textbooks and other course materials over the next year.

The Open and Affordable Textbooks (OAT) program, administered by the libraries, provides $1,000 awards to Rutgers faculty who modify their courses to use free or low-cost learning materials instead of traditional textbooks. To date, it has brought an estimated savings of over $5.7 million to students universitywide. 

The libraries issued 42 OAT awards this year, more than double the amount from previous cycles.

“With the ongoing pandemic putting financial pressures on so many families, it is more important than ever to do what we can to keep our students’ education affordable,” said Krisellen Maloney, vice president for information services and university librarian. “I’m proud that the Libraries can offer a program like OAT that not only helps relieve financial burdens for our students but can also help foster their academic success.” 

Read the full story on Rutgers Today.