The benefits of eTexts
In 2010, IU launched the eTexts initiative as a pilot program with four objectives:
- Drive down costs of digital materials for students
- Give faculty access to high-quality materials of choice
- Develop new tools for teaching and learning
- Shape the terms of eTexts models
Through the IU eText program, participating faculty have enabled IU students to access their required eTexts before the first day of class with a cumulative savings of more than $14.5 million off of retail prices since summer 2011.
Brad Wheeler, IU vice president for IT and CIO, discussed the university’s strategy to address these costs in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Fixing the high price of textbooks.