OER: More Than Half of All Colleges and 2.94 Million Students Using Free OpenStax Textbooks This Year

From an OpexStax/Rice University Announcement:

Almost 3 million students are saving an estimated $233 million this year by using free textbooks from OpenStax, the Rice University-based publisher of open educational resources.

Since publishing its first free textbook online in 2012, OpenStax has expanded its library to provide books for over 36 college and Advanced Placement® courses. The organization’s work has not only saved 9 million students more than $830 million, it’s also credited with contributing to a disruption in the publishing industry that’s lowering overall textbook prices.

[Clip]

In 2019, more than 90% of student users will access free textbooks digitally either through a website view, downloadable PDF or the OpenStax + SE mobile app. The newly introduced app launched last month and amassed nearly 58,000 downloads across the App Store and Google Play.

“We are exceeding even our own expectations of growth and impact on a daily basis,” said Daniel Williamson, managing director of OpenStax. “This tells us that people believe in what we’ve created and that we need to keep going.”

The precursor to OpenStax started in 1999 as a digital platform for creating, remixing and sharing openly licensed educational content. Two decades later, those digital roots still drive plans for future expansion of OpenStax.

OpenStax is also reinforcing its position as the leading publisher of open educational resources. The organization is gearing up for the launch of Rover by OpenStax, an affordable online math homework tool that uses Stepwise® technology to give students step-by-step level feedback.

Learn More, Read the Complete Announcement

Direct to OpenStax

Filed under: Libraries, News, Patrons and Users, Publishing