The Center for Teaching and Learning is looking at ways to save students money by offering free e-textbooks for introductory biology courses at UGA through a $25,000 University System of Georgia Incubator grant awarded this summer.
UGA students who take the entry-level biology courses pay around $97 for a new biology textbook. This grant collectively will save students enrolled in these courses approximately $150,350 this academic year as the project is being developed and $198,850 in subsequent years, according to Eddie Watson, CTL director.
Like other schools in the University System of Georgia, UGA has made a commitment to meeting the goals outlined in the statewide Complete College Georgia Plan.
The project, coordinated by the CTL, aims to save students money and increase access to education without impacting the quality of instruction by providing free textbooks and other learning materials through Open Education Resources, or OERs.