OHIO faculty have continued to convert required textbooks and course materials throughout summer 2018 via the University’s partnership with Top Hat to save students even more textbook money.
As of July 11, the University’s latest textbook savings tally totaled $920,000 – further exceeding OHIO’s May 2018 savings announcement of $600,000 and original goal of saving students $500,000 by fall 2018.
To date, OHIO faculty who have participated in this partnership have impacted 7,936 students across the University.
"Our partnership with Top Hat has had an immediate and extraordinary impact on faculty use of Open Educational Resources (OER) by dramatically lowering the barriers to adoption,” said Brad Cohen, senior vice provost for instructional innovation. “The fact that so many faculty have so quickly embraced OER through this partnership is yet more evidence of the level of commitment our faculty have to student access and success. Without sacrificing standards or quality, our faculty have saved students roughly a million dollars through this effort alone, and this is just one of several strategies we are pursuing for easing the financial burden on our students."
Through this partnership, OHIO faculty have had the opportunity to explore thousands of OER at no cost to them or their students. Top Hat has also provided one-on-one support to help faculty find these resources and adopt them to their specific course(s).
“The results of OHIO’s partnership with Top Hat underscore the University’s commitment to student access and affordability,” said Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis. “Our faculty have truly taken ownership of this fantastic opportunity to create affordable, engaging and interactive course content that enhances OHIO’s classroom experiences.”
It is anticipated that additional OHIO students will experience these benefits throughout the rest of the year as the program continues; the University’s goal is to convert 100 courses to lower-cost textbooks and materials. Over 36,000 Ohio University students are ultimately anticipated to benefit from the adoption of interactive and highly engaging OER accessed through the Top Hat Marketplace.
“Top Hat’s mission is to make higher education more affordable and effective, and we’re thrilled with the early results of our partnership with Ohio University,” said Mike Silagadze, co-founder and CEO of Top Hat. “OHIO’s faculty are doing an incredible job of adopting, customizing and even authoring interactive educational resources for their courses. Together, we’re improving student access to high-quality and affordable content that will ultimately raise the bar on student success in their coursework.”
For more information about OHIO’s partnership with Top Hat and to get involved or schedule a demo, visit the OHIO–Top Hat partnership web page.