User:Nodakprof/new sandbox

Higher education
In the United States, textbook costs have increased 88% from July 2006 to July 2016 and students are recommended to budget at least $1,230 per year for textbooks. Overall, open textbooks have been found by the Student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) to offer 80% or more savings to higher education students over traditional textbook publishers. Research commissioned by the Florida state legislature found similarly high savings and the state has since implemented a system to facilitate adoption of open textbooks.

In the Florida legislative report, the governmental panel found after substantial consultation with educators, students, and administrators that "there are compelling academic reasons to use open access textbooks such as: improved quality, flexibility and access to resources, interactive and active learning experiences, currency of textbook information, broader professional collaboration, and the use of teaching and learning technology to enhance educational experiences." (OATTF, p. i ). Legislative reports in Texas and North Dakota noted similar cost savings. In Canada, the province of British Columbia became the first jurisdiction to have a similar open textbook program.

Research
A meta-analysis of 22 studies of 100,012 students found that there were no differences between open and commercial textbooks for learning performance. Students enrolled in courses with open textbooks had a lower withdrawal rate than students enrolled in courses in commercial textbooks. Systematic reviews of open educational resources, including open textbooks, concluded that faculty and student perceptions of the quality of open textbooks was comparable to that of commercial textbooks.

Platforms
Open textbooks and other open educational resources may be found on several platforms, typically organized by universities and non-profit organizations, such as MERLOT. The University of Minnesota Open Textbook library is coordinated through the Center for Open Education and is a repository of downloadable open textbooks. OpenStax is both a platform for locating open textbooks and an open textbook creator. Peer review is a common practice across platforms.