ST. PAUL, MN –Today, Representative Zachary Dorholt (DFL-St. Cloud) introduced a bill to promote the use of open textbooks. Open textbooks are licensed under an open copyright license and are available online and in print for use by students and faculty at little to no cost.
Rep. Dorholt’s bill will create the Open Educational Resources Faculty Council, consisting of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, University of Minnesota and other non-profit Minnesota universities such as Hamline and St. Thomas. The council will find, use and customize open textbook educational resources that can be used across the state. The council will also review the materials. The end result will be free textbooks and learning materials for college students and faculty in Minnesota.
“College students are spending hundreds of dollars on books each semester, and many have no use for these books once a course is completed,” said Rep. Dorholt. “If we can promote sharing resources and accessing online documents, these students will save a lot of money and classes and universities will save thousands.”
Rep. Dorholt can be reached by phone at (651) 296-6612 or by email at rep.zachary.dorholt@house.mn.
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