CCAC is pleased to acknowledge and express gratitude to our faculty for Open Educational Resources advocacy and innovation in course materials. Textbook Heroes are members of the CCAC Faculty whose use of open and affordable resources has lowered financial barriers and contributed to more equitable access to education for students.
Be a Hero!
BIO 110
Approximate student savings per semester: $250 / student
Which OER? OpenStax: Biology 2e
Why OER? To provide increased accessibility and equity for our students.
Student comments: Students find the use of the OER invaluable. Many do not have the means to cover the costs of typical texts and the support materials. This has relieved the pressure that many students have felt over the years allowing them to have a less stressful learning experience.
MAT 080, 090, 108, 165, 201, 202
Approximate student savings per semester: $1620 per semester
Which OER? OpenStax Pre Algebra 2e, OpenStax Elementary Algebra 2e, Intermediate Algebra 2e, OpenStax Introductory Statistics, OpenStax Calculus Vol 1, OpenStax Calculus Vol 2
Why OER? Cost and accessibility.
Student Comments: My students like the accessibility and costs of the books.
ENG100, ENG101
Approximate student savings per semester: $4000 per semester
Which OER? Introduction to College Composition and College Composition 1 created by Katie Lang
Why OER? I wanted to ensure it had all the content that I prefer to teach in my courses.
Student Comments: Students like that they have immediate access to the textbook.
English 101, Children's Literature
Approximate student savings per semester: $21,575
Which OER? English 101: Academic Writing: An Introduction (created by a team of CCAC English instructors) The Inside, Outside, and Upside Downs of Children's Literature: From Poets and Pop-Ups to Princesses and Porridge
Why OER? I become interested in OERs when I noticed how many students were having difficulty affording their textbooks. I then had an opportunity to collaboratively create an OER customized for English 101 students, and I was fascinated by the process!
Student comments:My students have really appreciated both cost-free textbooks and easy digital access. I love that, in the classroom, students can simply glance at their laptops, e-readers, or even phones to access the textbook: no one can say they "forgot" or "don't have" the book, as it's literally at our fingertips! My English 101 students told me that they really enjoyed having a book that was written specifically for them by their own professors. They appreciated that personalization, which would never happen with a traditional off-the-shelf textbook.
CJC 101 Introduction to Criminal Justice, CJC 151 Criminal Justice Law, CJC 152 Criminal Justice Ethics
Approximate student savings per semester: $2360 fro CJC 101, for CJC 151 on all four campuses $37,200
Which OER? Introduction to the American Criminal Justice System, Criminal Law
Why OER? Save students money, but guarantee that they have the material needed for class. Eliminate any excuse for a student not to have read the required material for class.
Student comments: Students are not commenting, but are using the book. They point out discrepancies between the book, the class, or quiz.
Patrick Huth
PHS 107
Approximate student savings per semester: $3960
Which OER? OpenStax Astronomy
Why OER? To make quality resources available to CCAC Students
Student comments: Thank you for making this course more affordable.
CRE 103
Approximate student savings per semester: $2926
Which OER? Amie Erickson and I compiled useful portions of two OERs in order to make our cohesive College Academic Strategies by Erickson & Thomas
Why OER? The textbook I was using went to a new edition, increasing in price.
Student comments: So far I've only received one comment: "I don't have to buy the textbook? Great!"
CRE 101 & 103
Approximate student savings per semester: $7278
Which OER? Course materials are pulled from the Excelsior Online Reading Lab and provided to students for CRE 103.
Why OER? Using an OER reduces students' costs for textbooks and eliminates the occurrence of students not having their textbooks for class. Also: textbook available on first day, more equity, accessibility features, ability to customize.
Student comments: The students were excited that the OER was free.
PHL 101 & 111
Approximate student savings per semester: $4166
Which OER?
PHL101: Philosophy Readings (Hagman & Nesse) from LibreTexts
PHL111: World Religions I, Lumen, from LibreTexts
Why OER? The decision to use OER was easy for me and financially merciful for the students. In some cases the OER needed to be adapted, so I created my own excerpts and put them on Blackboard.
ECD 101, 103, 104, 209, 211
Approximate savings in 23SP: $5120
Which OER? Child Growth and Development by College of the Canyons.
Why OER? OER can be updated and revised easily, making it possible to keep course materials current and relevant. The field of education is ever-changing. It was endlessly frustrating to find textbooks already outdated on the first day of class.
SOC 101: Intro to Sociology
Approximate student savings per semester: $23,210
Which OER? OpenStax Sociolgy 2e
Why OER? Many of my students were not purchasing the textbook for class due to cost. I switched to a lower cost textbook but still had issues. With the OER every student has the book on Day 1. Students can better participate in classroom discussions and class time can involve discussions of the material.
Student comments: Many students have expressed appreciation for not having to purchase an expensive textbook. They seem to particularly like the app available for their phones.
MAT080, MAT090, in Fall 2020 MAT108
Approximate student savings per semester: $7857
Which OER? Openstax "Pre-Algebra", Openstax "Elementary Algebra", and Openstax "Intermediate Algebra"
Why OER? Students have access to the book on the first day of school, so I can assign homework assignments right away. Students already pay for the course; wouldn't it be amazing if that was all they had to pay for?
Student comments: "I love that it's free" "I had access to the book on the first day of class"
BIO 175: Microbiology
Approximate student savings per semester: $9156
Which OER? Self authored Microbiology Lab book
Why OER? After serving as a liaison on the OER development team last spring, I was very motivated to develop my own OER microbiology lab book.
I have taught microbiology for many years and had been collecting pictures and altered lab techniques. Also, the lab book we previously used was not as user friendly as I liked and was constantly adapting labs for our classroom.
Student comments: It's free. It is very succint!
SPH 101
Approximate student savings per semester: $3000
Which OER? Public Speaking - The Public Speaking Project
Why OER? I started using the OER when I was teaching an online course and love the cost-effective option for students.
Student comments: My students love that they do not have to purchase a book. They also have commented that they find it a really good supplement to our lectures.
ECD 101 103 104 107 135 202 211 212 214
Approximate student savings per semester: $8000
Which OER? Course materials are pulled from Principles and Practices of Teaching Young Children, OER Resources for Principles & Practices of Teaching Young Children, Child Growth and Development, Special Education from Hostos Community College, Safety, Health, and Nutrition in Early Childhood Education, Observation and Assessment in Early Childhood Education, Child, Family, and Community, Early Childhood Literacy Engaging and Empowering Emergent Readers and Writers - Birth to Age 5, Introduction to Curriculum for Early Childhood Education
Why OER? OER resources are cost effective and are freely available to the students and reduce the financial burden on students. Students can also access these resources anytime from anywhere.
How long have you been using OER? 2 years
Student comments: ‘Cost-effective’ and ‘easily accessible’ were the students' comments.
ECO 102 / 103
Approximate student savings per semester: $21,175
Which OER? Macroeconomics by Lumen Learning, Microeconomics by Lumen Learning
Why OER? OER materials support student success by reducing a financial barrier to learning. In addition to the reduced cost, my resources promote student interest and engagement.
Student comments: Students comment that the Lumen material really helped them to learn by reinforcing concepts. One student wrote “The online textbook from Lumen Learning is excellent. Well organized and easy to follow with great examples. I was very impressed with the online content and organization. Hats off to Professor Davenport and CCAC for using it.”
English 101
Approximate student savings per semester: $84,960 with Elizabeth Throesch, John Fantin, Koryn Noah-Patrick, Jeannie Schulte, and Ashleigh Fox
Which OER? English 101: Academic Writing: An Introduction (created by a team of CCAC English instructors)
Why OER? I wanted to provide my students quality materials but not compound the cost of higher education.
Student comments: My students appreciated not having to pay money out of pocket for a text.
SPH 101: Oral Communications
Approximate student savings per semester: $5400
Which OER? The Public Speaking Project
Why OER? To easily supplement my lectures and learning materials in an affordable and easy manner for students.
Student comments: Students have shared how easy it is to read the material for the class because they can connect to the book on any device.
CIT111, CIT217
Approximate student savings per semester: $4000 per semester
Which OER? Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/ Software Interface, Fifth Edition by David A. Patterson and John L. Hennessy
Introduction To MIPS Assembly Language Programming by Charles W. Kann
Why OER? For CIT-111, there are many inexpensive or free resources (websites, trade paperbacks) on Java. There was no need for a specific book since I also provide many lecture notes and my own homework assignments. For CIT-217, the free online older edition satisfies the course requirements and is considered the "bible" on this subject matter.
SPH 101
Approximate student savings per semester: $450
Which OER? Public Speaking - The Public Speaking Project
Why OER? It was made available when I began teaching at CCAC.
ENG 101: Composition I
Approximate student savings per semester: $5950
Which OER? OpenNowNon-Fiction Anthology and You, Writing!
Why OER? I was deeply concerned about textbook expense for students. I have used OER for the 2019-2020 academic year. I am using two OER resources now, but I am planning to augment them for the next school year.
Student comments: The students appreciate the savings and the fact we care about them.
Except where otherwise noted, Open Educational Resources at CCAC by Community College of Allegheny County Libraries is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.