From: Joseph Esposito <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2017 11:05:24 -0500

I am working on a number of projects now whose aim is to lower the price of
textbooks to college students. I am interested in particular with a model
termed "inclusive access" and am appealing to this list for suggestions as
to resources to guide my way.

I don't know how widespread the use of the term "inclusive access" is. It
is not the same thing as Open Educational Resources (OER), another model
that I am studying closely. My understanding is that inclusive access
refers to a method of purchasing college texts that differs substantially
from the conventional method, where publishers encourage instructors to
"adopt" a text, which is then purchased by students. In inclusive access
the purchaser is the institution, which negotiates favorable pricing with
publishers. The texts themselves are paid for in various ways, the most
common being that students are required to pay a flat fee for all their
textbooks, a fee that is a fraction of what it would cost to purchase the
books in the traditional way.

My first question is how widespread inclusive access is. I am aware of
examples at Cal State and the U. of Indiana, but have heard unconfirmed
rumors of programs at other institutions. I note as well the acquisition of
Verba by Ingram, which brings an important piece of inclusive access
infrastructure to Ingram:

 https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/15/ingrams-vitalsource-
wants-to-acquire-verba-to-give-students-affordable-access-to-textbooks/.

What other institutions have inclusive access programs in place or under
development?

My second question is what issues institutions have faced in setting up
such programs. A related question is to what extent libraries are
participating in these programs. My interest here is that I am a
problem-solver and I am trying to get my arms around all the problems.

Finally (and for me, the most important question), what are the
implications for academic freedom? What safeguards are there to ensure that
instructors may teach from the texts that they select rather than texts
acquired as bargains by the parent institution?

This is a big topic, for which any help on the road to enlightenment would
be greatly appreciated.

Joe Esposito


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Joseph J. Esposito
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