West Texas A&M University made headlines in August after announcing its lofty goal of eliminating the majority of textbook-related costs. A couple months after the university’s initial announcement, West Texas A&M President Walter Wendler conceded his plans were too ambitious and said they would only apply to first- and second-year classes. In an email last month, Wendler said he planned to achieve this goal by finding “whatever means we can to reduce costs to students and assist faculty in finding resources acceptable to them for teaching.” One of several solutions the university is exploring to eliminate textbook costs is turning to open-access materials.
