The landscape for how students acquire course materials has changed dramatically since our first national student survey in 2014. Over the past decade, a growing national movement has given faculty more options to choose open textbooks and other free learning materials. At the same time, major publishers have shifted aggressively toward digital paywalls, expanding the use of access codes, bundled platforms, and automatic textbook billing that charge students by default and limit choice.
How are students navigating this new reality? To find out, the Student PIRGs conducted a national survey in fall 2025, gathering responses from more than 4,000 students at over 100 institutions. We found that adoption of free and open educational materials is real and growing, but its promise is increasingly undermined by access codes and automatic billing schemes that keep costs high. As a result, course material costs continue to take a serious toll on students, many of whom report skipping meals, dropping classes, or working extra hours just to afford the books they need to succeed.
Conclusion
The findings of this report paint a clear picture: the cost of textbooks and course materials continues to place a heavy burden on students, affecting not only their academic choices and performance but also their daily lives.
Access codes and automatic billing programs have intensified these challenges, often leaving students paying for materials without their full awareness or consent. While the use of free course materials is growing, the rise of restrictive digital models underscores the need for greater transparency and options in the textbooks marketplace.
Collectively, these findings demonstrate that the financial barriers posed by course materials are not incidental. They are a systemic issue that decision makers should address through policies that prioritize affordability and a fair marketplace.
Recommendations
Legislatures and education agencies should fund free and open textbooks programs and implement safeguards to ensure that commercial course materials and billing contracts don’t lock students into models that undermine affordability and access.
Institutions and higher education systems should continue investing in infrastructure – such as grants, professional development, recognition programs, and dedicated open education librarians – to make it easier for faculty to adopt open textbooks and release their work under open licenses. Institutions should clearly display course material costs during registration and carefully consider the implications of “inclusive access” contracts.
Faculty should consider adopting an open textbook, and think twice before signing their students up for automatic billing or assigning an access code. The digital learning landscape is evolving so we also recommend staying up to date on campus and state programs that may be available to professors.
Student governments and organizations should advocate for policies that support open textbook adoption and creation, and reject attempts to further entrench access codes and automatic billing on campus.
