Report Affordable Textbooks: Transparency for UTSA Roadrunners

In 2017, SB 810 was signed by Governor Abbott that requires tracking by institutions of higher education using open educational resources. That bill has now become a part of the Texas Education Code: Sec.51.542.  TEC, 51.542 supports OER by requiring statutory changes related to course listings and textbooks, and reasonable efforts to disseminate information to students regarding courses using OER.

OER are "…teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that allows for free use, reuse, modification, and sharing with others, including full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.” (Texas Senate Bill 810 2017 and TEC 51.542). OER textbooks, like those from OpenStax and Open Textbook Library, are free for students with no associated fees and have a Creative Commons or a Public Domain license."

In 2021, HB 1027 was passed requiring transparency at Texas institutions around inclusive access.

Inclusive access is described comprehensively on InclusiveAccess.org: 

Inclusive Access is a textbook sales model that adds the cost of digital course content into students’ tuition and fees. Inclusive Access programs usually start with an agreement between an institution, a bookstore, and one or more publishers. On or before the first day of class, digital content is delivered to students, typically through a learning management system. Students have a period to “opt out” before they are automatically billed for the cost. After the end of the course, students typically lose access to the content. Inclusive Access is also known as automatic textbook billing, and the details of each program can vary by campus.

Follow UTSA's progress on HB 1027: