From Books to Bits: Digital Content for a New Age

Abstract

Many factors influence higher education affordability. Rising tuition costs, changes to financial aid qualifications, costs associated with room and board, and textbook costs contribute to increases in higher education expense--which put higher education pursuits out of reach for some. Making traditional texts available as e-books for purchase or rent and utilizing Open Education Resources (OERs), which are typically free, are methods to control rising textbook expenditures for students. This paper reports findings from a study of the preferences of students from a community college, including textbook expenses, impact on higher education affordability, e-book rental satisfaction, and OERs.