International Journal of Open Educational Resources Volume 2, Issue 1, Fall 2019/Winter 2020 | Page 139

Collaborative Partnerships between State Agencies and Institutions of Higher Education
pact of introducing the open textbook.
In Fall 2018, the Pre-Pilot Open
Textbook survey was distributed to the
English Composition I and II students,
for both those taking on-campus and
online courses. When students were
asked if they had a textbook on the first
day of class, 64% of respondents reported
they did not. Of this group of students,
22% were waiting for Financial
Aid or VA money, 19% indicated the
book was too expensive, and 13% were
waiting for their paycheck. The survey
results support the efforts of Auburn
University at Montgomery to develop
an open textbook and show that with it
the gap of nearly 64% of students without
a textbook on the first day of class
can be closed (See Table 1).
The second survey, the Open
Textbook Preference Survey, was sent
to a mix of participants and measured
students’ reaction to the open textbook
after the pilot semester. English
Composition I represented 18% and
English Composition II represented
82% of the surveyed students. Of this
group, approximately 75% of the students
attended on-campus classes and
about 25% attended online. The Spring
2019 survey asked students about their
preference for using the open textbook
compared to purchasing a textbook.
Students indicated they preferred access
to free digital textbooks at a rate
of 77%. Of those surveyed, 71% indicated
they liked using the free digital
textbook. The results of the second survey
indicate that students have a strong
preference for using and accessing free
digital textbooks.
The survey also asked students
about their learning experience with
the open textbook. Of the respondents,
76% felt they were able to get better
grades during the course by having a
free digital textbook. Having the free
textbook on the first day of class was
important to 71% of students surveyed.
For 74% of the students surveyed, responses
showed they felt the free textbook
enhanced their learning experience.
This evidence demonstrated that
students value OER, and Auburn University
at Montgomery used the results
to encourage further development of
OER materials (see Table 2).
Project 2: State OER Commons
and Google Analytics
Because of the OER projects funded
by ACHE and ACCS, the
growth of OER in the state, and
generous support from the Alabama
Virtual Library, the Alabama OER
Commons was developed. The Alabama
OER Commons contains a collection
area called Alabama Open Textbooks,
which is specifically designated
for textbooks created within the state.
The textbook from Project 2 was the
first to be published in this area.
Upon completion of the open
textbook and subsequent publishing in
the Alabama OER Commons, ways to
measure usage were explored. A focus
on the potential audience and what the
impact could be on students was at the
forefront of the discussion. After performing
research, the team decided to
use Google Analytics. The process was
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