WVU-P to offer electronic textbooks - NewsandSentinel.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Parkersburg News and Sentinel

WVU-P to offer electronic textbooks - NewsandSentinel.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Parkersburg News and Sentinel:

West Virginia University at Parkersburg is looking at an innovative way to reduce textbook costs for students. The college will be rolling out its first electronic open-source textbook this fall, written and developed by college instructors and available for the Kindle and other e-readers.

"We are tired of our students paying more for textbooks than they do for tuition," said Rhonda Richards, senior vice president for academic affairs at WVU-P. "We are looking at cheaper alternatives to textbooks, including creating our own electronic textbooks."

According to the college's program plan, the project aims to provide "low-cost, open-source textbooks developed by faculty for students in WVU Parkersburg's first-year experience courses as well as developmental courses in mathematics and English/writing."

Richards said the textbooks will be written by teams of faculty and reviewed by a third party to make sure they meet certain academic standards. The plan also includes the purchase of multiple e-readers for some classrooms and a student fee of about $5 for the electronic book.

In most cases the students will still have to buy their own e-readers, though, but the cost of a single e-reader, around or below $200, is often less expensive than a regular textbook.

The first book will be developed for adult students transitioning to college, followed by developmental mathematics and developmental English course texts.

The project is expected to cost around $30,000, which includes the price of multiple classroom e-readers and stipends for faculty working to develop the electronic materials.