Faculty update open textbooks to keep Montana Tech education affordable and accessible

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index shows that the cost of educational books and supplies is at an all-time high—a reality that can derail students’ success and have knock-on effects on their everyday lives, as Dan Xie with the Student Public Interest Research Groups reports. In a bid to save money while attending college, some students may skip buying textbooks and end up without the reading, assignment, and test-preparation material needed for courses. Others may be forced to work extra shifts just to afford books, reducing the time they dedicate to their studies. Either way, textbook prices can have significant effects on student learning, well-being, and, ultimately, retention.

Stacey Corbitt 

Open-source textbooks developed at Montana Technological University have helped to offset these impacts for Montana Tech and Highlands College students. Open textbooks carry copyright permissions that make the books free to download, share, and sometimes adapt for particular courses and groups of students, and Writing Program faculty Dawn Atkinson and Stacey Corbitt have spent the past several years producing and updating a suite of open textbooks for use in university-level writing courses. These efforts have led to substantial cost savings for Montana Tech and Highlands College students, to the tune of nearly $82,000 in the past 10 months alone.

Dawn Atkinson

Most recently, Atkinson and Corbitt updated content and digital accessibility features in three open textbooks they developed for use at Montana Technological University. The books have a STEM, health, and business focus that reflects the institution’s degree offerings. They also incorporate model writing samples to give Montana Tech and Highlands College students publication credits for their résumés. In addition to covering technical, business, scientific, and academic writing, the textbooks intentionally address study skills. Academic success instruction has emerged as a distinct area of need among higher education students in the United States as the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic and overreliance on generative artificial intelligence have left some underprepared for college-level expectations. Atkinson and Corbitt’s open textbooks address academic success through chapter content, instructional activities, and assignment options.

Atkinson and Corbitt’s open textbooks can be accessed through the Open Textbook Library and OER Commons by searching either author’s name. They will be used in Montana Tech and Highlands College writing courses again during academic year 2026-2027 and are free to learners, educators, and members of the public.

Montana Technological University is a premier STEM-focused university in Butte, Montana. As Montana’s STEM university, Montana Tech offers transformational opportunities for all students through hands-on, applied, and experiential learning. Montana Tech has evolved into a dynamic institution which connects focused students to a network of people, opportunities, and experiences that empower them to change the world. Montana Tech offers world-class opportunities in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, healthcare, business, energy and the trades. For more information, go to www.mtech.edu.