UM System President Mun Choi announced today that the UM System is focused on saving students money on course materials.
According to Choi, the University will develop a system-wide strategy to encourage use of quality open educational resources – which are free to students. The university will also focus on Auto Access, a program that makes books available online at a lower cost than traditional textbooks.
"Our goal is to move into the future by introducing more open source material so our students can have an outstanding, affordable education," Choi said.
According to Choi, 10 courses will adopt open source materials this year with an estimated student savings over 1 million dollars. The system will continue to expand the program.
There will be incentives for faculty to use and develop open source materials.
Choi made the announcement at the Mizzou book store to a crowd of more than 100 people, including state Senator Caleb Rowden and university chancellors.