Allan Hancock College receives grant to lower student textbook costs

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Allan Hancock College has received a new grant that will save students millions of dollars by granting free textbooks and other open-learning materials.

They will join with West Hills Community Lemoore, the College of Marin and College of the Canyons to create a new program, called the California Consortium for Equitable Change in Hispanic Serving Institutions Open Education Resources. 

This partnership of federally designated Hispanic Serving Institutions was awarded a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to improve educational access for diverse and traditionally underserved students.

This was done by researching, creating and sharing Open Educational Resources.

These resources are learning and research materials either in the public domain or licensed in a manner that provide everyone with free permission to use and distribute them.

They include free and accessible textbooks, homework systems and even college courses. The grant funding will support, among other projects, the creation and expansion of textbooks for courses that are part of degree-granting programs, particularly those with high enrollments.

The grant is expected to save students across all four participating colleges more than $2.2 million in textbook costs over the next three years.