No or Low Cost Textbook Options Available for Connecticut Community College Students

Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) President Mark Ojakian today announced that community college students within the CSCU system will now be able to easily search for No or Low Cost (NoLo) text-based course materials during course registration, offering significant potential savings for students.

A new feature within the Banner student information system will allow course schedulers at community colleges to mark and identify courses that use NoLo course materials of no more than $40. These may include textbooks, online homework platforms, codes and publisher-provided curricula.

NoLo are typically Open Educational Resources (OER) that are free and openly licensed educational materials used for teaching, learning, and research, and can replace expensive learning resources like textbook materials. Since 2014, CSCU institutions have reported more than $1.7 million in savings due to the use of NoLo materials.

“We are delighted to offer our community college students an easily identifiable way to find no cost or low cost course materials,” said President Ojakian. “We know textbook costs remain a burden for many students, and for some, the cost of books inhibits their ability to complete coursework and be successful. Through NoLo, CSCU remains committed to accessibility, student success and affordability.”

NoLo is one of many ongoing initiatives that support CSCU’s Students First guiding principle to sustain and enhance education affordability, accessibility, and student support services. In August 2018 —in continued support of the initiative— CSCU launched OpenCSCU, a collaborative effort among campus libraries to support faculty in the selection of NoLo materials.

For more information on NoLo, see NoLo = No or Low Cost Textbooks.