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Affordable Learning Upstate: Affordable and Open Educational Resources

What is Affordable Learning?

Affordable Learning seeks to minimize the costs of textbooks and other course materials for students by using no-cost or low-cost resources.

Affordable Learning relies on three types of resources:

1) Library resources licensed and provided free of charge.

2) Open Education Resources (OER) - teaching, learning, and research resources that are free to access and also carry legal permission of open use. They are available in a multitude of formats, including textbooks, full courses, modules, videos, labs, assignments, and assessments published under Creative Commons licenses .

3) Free web resources, including many trade publications, government documents, and works in the public domain.

In addition, the Upstate Bookstore offers several ways to mitigate the cost of conventionally-published textbooks: renting new books, renting or buying used books, a price comparison guide where students can find the best deals, and helping faculty set up "inclusive access" arrangements with publishers.

OER Network

PASCAL SCALE

South Carolina Affordable LEarning (SCALE) is a state-wide initiative of the Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries (PASCAL) that seeks to reduce the overall cost of higher education for students by promoting the use of quality low-cost and no-cost learning materials. Through PASCAL, USC Upstate is a consortial member of the Open Education Network, sponsor of the Open Textbook Library.