CANYON, Texas — A Texas university will no longer require students to buy textbooks for any course starting next fall.
West Texas A&M University's president sent a letter to students saying the move is in an effort to reduce the cost of earning a bachelor's degree.
While reference books and digital materials like style guides could still be required, President Walter Wendler said he hopes those can be replaced by virtual options.
“Making education affordable is our responsibility,” Wendler said. “We want to help lower the cost of higher education for students and families and continue to make WT the University of choice for students across the region, the state, the nation and the world.”
WTAMU, which is located about 100 miles outside of Lubbock, will also use resources to buy textbooks for students if a course still requires it.
According to the Texas Tribune, the decision comes as all public universities in the state agreed to hold undergraduate tuition and fees flat for the next two years in exchange for additional funding from state lawmakers this past legislative session.
Wendler's announcement comes nearly five years after he first floated the idea to get rid of textbook costs on his personal website. He wrote that faculty should focus on using so-called "Open Educational Resources" that are licensed to be free and publicly available.
A few months ago, the university's faculty issued a vote of no confidence in Wendler's leadership after a student drag show was canceled. In the faculty's no-confidence resolution, they also mentioned Wendler's desire to make West Texas A&M the first 'textbook-free' campus in the state as one of their concerns. The resolution argued his focus on making college more affordable has "disproportionately focused on relatively small expenses, such as textbook costs, rather than more significant impacts on tuition and student fees."
The Texas Tribune contributed to this report. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans - and engages with them - about public policy, politics, government, and statewide issues.