Iowa State continues to find ways to keep course materials affordable for students. The latest is Immediate Access ONE -- launched this fall -- which provides one course materials price ($259 for fall and spring, $69 winter and summer) for all undergraduate students.
On the first day of class each semester, students can access their required course materials by logging into Canvas. Students automatically are enrolled in the program and the savings is immediate.
"We saved students more than $2 million through Immediate Access ONE this fall," said ISU Book Store digital course material buyer John Wierson. "Last fall, we saved students just over $1.5 million with our previous program."
Combine that with open educational resources (OER) and course reserves through the University Library, and faculty play a significant role in affordability through the materials they choose.
"Using more free and low-cost materials keeps costs low for students," said Abbey Elder, open access and scholarly communication librarian. "The more instructors choose free and low-cost options, the more students it will impact by lowering the base fee -- or even allowing students to opt out of Immediate Access altogether."
Immediate access
Immediate Access ONE provides any required books, eBooks, course packets and lab manuals as well as homework platforms and access codes. Students also can pick up immediate access printed materials from the bookstore. Course supplies that aren't part of the program -- but available at the bookstore -- include lab coats, goggles and art and lab supplies. All printed items belong to the student unless they drop the course, and digital materials are added and removed automatically from Canvas as students add or drop courses.
Wierson said about 3,100 (12.1%) of Iowa State's 25,628 undergraduates opted out of the program this fall, which was below the bookstore's estimate of 15%.
"For those students who opted out, it was most likely because their combined course materials cost less than $259," he said.
Students have until the 10th day of the semester to opt out and receive a refund to their U-Bill. Students who opt out still can buy materials through the bookstore to use their financial aid or choose a different vendor.
Wierson said bookstore staff will review Immediate Access ONE data from the 2024-25 academic year to determine if tweaks are necessary to the flat-rate cost next year. This includes targeting titles with higher prices where additional publisher pricing negotiations are needed to help keep the overall flat rate-cost down, which could result in lower opt-out rates.
Open educational resources
OER are instructional materials that are free to access and customize. Iowa State is the leader in OER among the three regent universities, saving students $2.5 million since 2018. During that same time, the University of Iowa's OER student savings was $1.8 million and Northern Iowa students saved $1.5 million.
More OER discussion
University library is hosting a series of in-person events about OER and affordable course materials in 1118 Student Innovation Center; Register online.
OER often are thought of as free textbooks, but they can be videos, lesson plans, recorded lectures and more.
The key to increasing OER use is making faculty aware of the support available to them, Elder said. Faculty interested in finding an OER or developing their own can contact their subject librarian at Parks Library. Elder also is available to meet with individual faculty or present to larger groups. Faculty members already using their own materials also can work with the ISU Digital Press to produce and publish the material. About 10 OER books are produced at ISU each year, Elder said. Two books were just published for the start of class this fall, including a lab manual for human anatomy.
"A big misconception is that something can't be good if it's free," she said. "Just because something is free to access doesn’t mean it's free to create, because it takes time, effort and many people working together to make it happen."
Elder, who serves as the statewide open education coordinator for public universities, private colleges and community colleges, said about 40 ISU courses -- and even more sections -- currently use OER materials.
Course reserves
Course reserves is another service of the University Library that helps instructors use low- and no-cost course materials. Course reserves can include digital or print books, book chapters, journal articles, videos and more. Items used for assignments or covered on tests are candidates for course reserves. Digital materials are loaded into Canvas and available to students 24/7, and print materials are listed there for easier trips to the library.
The library ensures all material meets accessibility standards and pays reasonable copyright fees as required, said course reserves supervisor Jill Vasquez.
In fiscal year 2024, 328 courses used course reserves, saving students $10,263 in required course materials. University Library also paid more than $16,000 for copyright law compliance.
Last year, course reserves began offering time-controlled digital lending for out-of-print books. A partnership with the ISU Book Store led to identifying and making available course packet materials from library subscriptions and collections.
Faculty can make course reserve requests anytime during the semester but are asked to provide at least four weeks' notice before students need access to the materials. Requests can be submitted in Canvas and questions about course reserves can be emailed to ereserve@iastate.edu.
