Tell Congress: Renew the Open Textbooks Pilot Program

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Tell Congress: Renew the Open Textbooks Pilot Program

Congress

The Student PIRGs helped establish the Open Textbooks Pilot Program in 2018 after nearly a decade of advocacy. Since then, the program has granted more than $50 million to open textbooks programs across the country and funded projects that are projected to save students more than $250 million on course materials. Last year, the program was funded at $7 million.

This spring, Congress will be deciding what the next federal budget will be via the federal appropriations process. Sign now to tell your US Representative and Senator to renew and strengthen the Open Texbtook Pilot program for the upcoming year!

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The Student PIRGs

Boston, MA

To: Congress
From: [Your Name]

We the undersigned student representatives of America’s colleges and universities write to you today on the urgent need to address the skyrocketing price of textbooks, and to urge you to renew and strengthen the Open Textbooks Pilot in the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2025.

Textbooks and other materials are one of the largest hidden costs students experience in their pursuit of a degree. Students regularly pay hundreds of dollars each semester for books they can only resell for pennies on the dollar, expiring access codes hides essential homework assignments behind an online paywall, and automatic textbook billing programs reduce consumer choice and competition in the textbooks market. As a result Sixty-five percent of students have skipped buying a textbook at some point because of cost, and each year, $3 billion of federal student aid goes to pay for textbooks, according to the Student PIRGs.

Open textbooks can get students the materials they need to succeed on day one of class, for free. These open course materials are high quality, peer reviewed educational resources that are published under an open copyright that makes them free to download and can be printed at cost. Studies from BYU and Achieving the Dream indicate that the use of open textbooks increases student learning outcomes, lets them take more courses, and graduate on time.

Thank you for making a $7 million investment in open textbooks in FY24.

The program has already funded projects that are expected to save students more than $250 million, and funding should be significantly increased to accelerate progress. As you work towards a final FY25 bill, we urge you to continue investing in the Open Textbooks Pilot Program.