The Textbook Costs and Digital Learning Resources (TCDLR) Committee was established in 2012 by Dr. Glenn DuBois, Chancellor of Virginia's Community Colleges, and the VCCS Reengineering Task Force.
The purpose of the TCDLR Committee was to investigate the issue of textbook affordability and, based on the findings, develop recommendations for reducing the cost of college course materials for VCCS students. The Committee was charged to address six specific goals:

a. examine VCCS administrative practices and policies that unnecessarily add to the cost of academic textbooks,
b. explore how networked digital technology can best be leveraged to lower the overall cost of textbooks, including using open educational resources,
c. investigate ways which currently licensed electronic resources can be used in electronic “course packs,” as a substitute for textbooks, or for the supplementary material often required for a course of study,
d. identify opportunities for interested VCCS faculty to explore using openly licensed resources in their courses,
e. examine the current relevance of printed textbooks in an age of interactive, web-based content, digital publishing, and
f.recommendstrategiesandpoliciesforcreatinganinstitutionalculturethatembracesandpractices openness, transparency, collaboration, and sharing.

The administrators, faculty, and staff invited to serve on the TCDLR committee were selected to reflect the breadth and diversity of the VCCS. Members include a college president, deans, academic and finance vice-presidents, library, instructional design, finance, financial aid, and information technology staff, and, most importantly, adjunct and full-time VCCS faculty. There are representatives from 16 VCCS colleges, the System Office, as well as a senior administrator from a four-year public university. For this reason, the Committee is confident that the recommendations contained within this report are informed by the perspective of all VCCS stakeholders and reflect broad agreement among VCCS administrators, faculty, and staff.

The 2015 TCDLR Final Report builds on the findings, recommendations, and accomplishments documented in the 2012 Interim Report. With this report, the formal work of the Textbook Costs and Digital Learning Resources Committee will come to an end. However, the Committee would like to emphasize that these recommendations require immediate and sustained action. There is still much work to be done.

Keywords

e-books · OER · open textbooks · textbook affordability