The University of Arkansas Cossatot was awarded for Improving Institutional Efficiencies
with their new Textbook Program by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE).
Instead of renewing a lease with a book vendor, the college created its own textbook
program.
The Arkansas Department of Higher Education Coordinating Board met for a regularly
scheduled meeting at the Arkansas Department of Higher Education office on Friday,
October 26, 2018. ADHE Director Maria Markham announced the 2018 Closing the Gap Awards.
As an effort to bring these best practices to the forefront, Arkansas higher education
institutions’ presidents and chancellors were invited to submit successful programs
that can be implemented on a broader scale and to generate more innovative strategies.
The department received over 75 submissions in the categories of Increased Student
Completion, Support for Adult Learners, Increased Institutional Efficiencies, and
Support for Underserved Minority Students. Entries were judged on innovative implementation,
creative solutions, increased outcomes and delivering value to stakeholders.
UA Cossatot received the award for Improving Institutional Efficiencies with its new
Textbook Program. The college created its own textbook program instead of traditionally
renewing a lease with a book vendor. The University of Arkansas Cossatot Textbook
Rental/Open Educational Resource (OER) Program has saved students $1,047,949.00 in
the past three years. UA Cossatot is the first two-year college in Arkansas to initiate
a textbook program along these lines as well having the highest percentage of OER
supported courses in the state.
The program was created in 2015 with the sole purpose of removing barriers to education
for students. Forty percent of classes at UA Cossatot do not require a textbook and
instead use OER materials to supplement instruction. For the remaining sixty percent
of courses, students pay a $30 rental fee per course to rent required books.
“Our college decided three years ago that we needed to make college even more affordable
for our students,” said Dr. Steve Cole, Chancellor of UA Cossatot.
“To accomplish that, we designed a textbook program that features a combination of
Open Educational Resources and book rentals. In fact, over 40% of our classes require
no formal textbook at all. We are also proud to be the first college in Arkansas to
be a member of the Open Textbook Network. At a savings of over $1 million for our
students, we are extremely honored with this award and will continue to research innovative
ways for students to be successful on our campus.”