The estimated average cost of textbooks and supplies at the University of Idaho is over $1400 every year. Over 70% of the price of textbooks goes directly to large publishers to pay for marketing, development of unnecessary new versions, pointless CD’s and online materials as well as all of the salaries and earnings for these for-profit companies.  There are many open licensed textbooks that are available for students and staff. For students, electronic copies can be accessed and downloaded for free and buying a printed copy is drastically reduced in price by removing the costs associated with publishing corporations. Professors can modify and edit these materials to suit their courses, providing a textbook that can be tailored to each course. Help encourage faculty to adopt these open resources to maintain the rising cost of higher education. Learn more about open textbooks >>