Affordable Learning, Shared Findings: A Collaborative Survey of Oregon Institutions

Presenter Information

• Stefanie Buck
• Holly Gabriel
• Julia Stone
• Rayne Vieger

Location

Online

Start Date

14-10-2026 11:00 AM

End Date

14-10-2026 12:00 PM

Description

Abstract:

Four Oregon institutions (University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Southern Oregon University, and Portland State University) collaborated to redesign the Affordable Textbook survey, originally conducted by Florida Virtual Campus in 2016. Many people have heard of the “Florida survey” and its shocking finding that 60% of students reported not purchasing their textbooks due to cost. Since then, the survey has been updated and improved, and it has been conducted at many institutions over the years. Each time, we learn more about how our students are impacted by the cost of course materials, what strategies they use, and what is important to them. The four institutions collaborated to review and update the survey to better reflect the Oregon student population and the needs of our individual institutions. In this presentation, we will discuss not only the survey results but also how and why we changed the questions and how we plan to disseminate the results and use this information to leverage support for more OER activities. We will share what we learned about Oregon students and the high cost of course materials, as well as some of the benefits and challenges in running a multi-institutional survey. Participants will receive access to the survey questions and the IRB application, which are licensed under an open license for adoption and remixing.

Outcomes:

1. Recognize the value of developing a collaborative survey on course materials affordability and its potential impact on state-wide or regional affordability efforts.
2. Determine potential strategies to leverage survey data to gain institutional support and advance open education.
3. Identify potential benefits of collaboration and knowledge sharing across multiple institutions when conducting a student survey on course materials affordability.

Bios: 

• Holly Gabriel is the Electronic Resources & Open Access Librarian at Southern Oregon University (SOU) in Ashland. She received her MLS from Emporia State and her Master of Public Health from Northern Illinois University. Holly is passionate about textbook affordability initiatives and open education to improve equity in higher education. Outside of work, Holly enjoys hiking, outdoor music venues, and live theater.   

• Julia Stone (she/her) is an Open Scholarship Librarian and Assistant Professor at Portland State University. She received her MLIS from Kent State University. At PSU, Julia manages PSU’s institutional repository, PDXScholar, leads campus-wide open education initiatives, including the PDXOpen grant program, and supports research data management services.  

• Rayne Vieger (she/her) is the Head of Digital Publishing & Pedagogy and OER Librarian at the University of Oregon Libraries. She received her MLS from the University of North Texas. At UO, Rayne leads digital publishing, open education, and open scholarship initiatives, including campus-wide OER programs, affordable course materials efforts, and library publishing services. She works closely with faculty and campus partners to support innovative teaching practices and expand equitable access to knowledge. 

• Stefanie Buck is the director of the Open Educational Resources Unit at Oregon State University. The Unit supports faculty who want to adopt, adapt, or author open educational resources with grant funding and other publishing services. Prior to taking this role in 2019, she was an academic librarian at multiple institutions, including Oregon State. She has an MLS and MA from the University of Hawai’i and an MEd from the University of Massachusetts.