Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., have introduced the Affordable College Textbook Act in the Senate on Thursday. The bill creates a grant program to support the creation and adoption of open educational resources at institutions of higher learning across the country.
In a statement, Durbin said, “Over three years ago, I worked to secure funding for the University of Illinois to complete an open textbook project. The University, working with faculty, identified sustainability as the topic for the project and an area of study in need of such open resources. Since 2012, the textbook that was produced from this effort – Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation – has been in regular use at the University of Illinois campuses. The book has been used in a Massive Open Online Course that has been sampled by at least 60,000 students. At least a dozen schools throughout the country have either contacted the University of Illinois about the text or are using it. This bill can replicate and build on this success and help make the cost of attending college more affordable.”
For more information about the bill, follow the #OERUSA conversation on Twitter.