Thanks David for the more up-to-date info. There was also a cost per copy at one time in addition to the license fee, which could be very high if making study packs. So a fixed cost plus a variable one. (This is getting too detailed for Dom but it mounts up for sure).ChrisChris PeglerSenior Lecturer, Institute of Educational Technology
From: David Kernohan [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 23 January 2014 09:54
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: use of text books in higher education across the world
Looks like £4 per full time student: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/photocopy-licence-to-cost-4-per-student/168885.article
Back in 2002 at least.
-
David Kernohan
Jisc
From: Open Educational Resources [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Chris.Pegler
Sent: 22 January 2014 21:09
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: use of text books in higher education across the world
It is indeed an interesting question. One thing to bear in mind (sorry not a solution but another element in the complex mix here in the UK) is the costs of the Copyright Licensing Agency licensing agreement. This is the arangement that allows copies of copyright texts to be made on behalf of students (under specific conditions which are akin to what students individually are permitted as fair dealing). So its not only the cost of the photocopier and the paper. There is also a license fee involved.
Its a while since I have been actively involved with the intricacies of the CLA license but at that time (late 1990s) there was a cost per institution and also a cost per copy. Writing on the eLIB list in 1996 (what a great thing JISCMAIL archives are) I had this to say (gosh, how old am I?)
This was not a trivial charge. To give an idea of the level, the cost charged per copy at the time amounted to a sufficiently large sum for me to make the argument that Warwick Business School (my employer) would save money by employing someone part-time to write to rights holders to request permisson to copy. I was able to show from a trial that this was often granted with no cost requested - hardly a surprise result to those in open education who realise that academics often want to share what they write rather than make money from it.
I am sure things will have moved on since those days, not least because of open license options which offer another set of options. I would love to know what the cost of a CLA license is nowadays. Anyone know?
Chris
Chris Pegler
Senior Lecturer, Institute of Educational Technology
Best to contact me by email, but telephone number is 01908 654015 (IET office)
From: David Kernohan [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 22 January 2014 20:26
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: use of text books in higher education across the worldHi Dominic – what a great question, thanks for asking. My understanding (though not based on research, I hasten to add!) is that the US system is uniquely built around specific textbooks – often bespoke texts created for the class. Many UK universities have for years used much cheaper “coursebooks” that are simply photocopies of various chapters and papers.
Interestingly I had a conversation with a chap from Pearson recently, and we were lamenting that very little research had been done on the “effectiveness” of textbooks for student learning… Pearson are addressing this with their current Efficacy initiative.
Which is all a very long-winded way of saying that I don’t know of any research, but I would love to read some.
David
-
David Kernohan
Jisc
From: Open Educational Resources [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dominic Orr
Sent: 22 January 2014 10:12
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: use of text books in higher education across the world
Dear all
I hope you don't mind me approaching you with a question. I am also following the OER discussions and debates.
A frequent argument for OER textbooks is the huge cost savings for students in higher education. Evidence is often given for the huge costs to students of buying textbooks. Allen (2010) quotes the average of 900 US$ per year for US students. That would be around 664 Euros and appears very high to me – I am wondering if the use of textbooks and other such materials differs a lot between countries and types of higher education institution.
I have looked at the most recent data from a project I am involved in called EUROSTUDENT, which collates student expense data from across Europe. The data has a category called “learning materials”, which includes the acquisition of books and dvds, costs of copying materials and field trips. It shows that the median cost per student per annum lies around 300 Euros, but varies greatly with 50% of country averages lying in the range of between 154 and 498 Euros per annum. (Below is a table, which you may or may not able to see in your mail.)
So my question is whether anyone knows of a more specific internationally comparative analysis of textbooks costs in different educational sectors (esp. higher and secondary education). It would appear to me that this would be important information to back-up the financial arguments around textbooks.
Thanks and best wishes
Dominic
TABLE: Amount spent on learning materials according to EUROSTUDENT IV survey (2011) – share of student costs (students not living with parents) and estimate of average costs per year in Euros
Country (two-digit abbreviation)
Share of total student costs
Est. of average annual costs, Euros
EE
0.6%
34
PL
1.4%
61
CZ
1.5%
71
SK
4.0%
141
RO
2.8%
141
LT
3.3%
153
HR
4.0%
155
FI
1.7%
180
ES
2.3%
209
LV
4.8%
223
TR
5.7%
225
NL
3.2%
300
DE
4.3%
314
DK
3.7%
400
SE
4.0%
408
IE
3.0%
450
Eng_Wales*
2.7%
469
CH
3.6%
528
SI
8.2%
581
AT
6.1%
597
NO
3.9%
649
MT
20.2%
900
PT
13.6%
1358
Source: EUROSTUDENT database - https://eurostudent.his.de/eiv/report/ *Data for England and Wales only includes out-of-pocket costs and not those covered by students’ parents.
--
Dr. Dominic Orr
Educational policy analyst, Hannover, Germany
-- The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC 000391), an exempt charity in England & Wales and a charity registered in Scotland (SC 038302).