Omar Valerio-Jimenez, Ph.D.

Associate Professor,
History

Course Awards

2019

HIS 2053: Texas History
Student savings/semester
$8,792

Valerio-Jimenez is replacing the former, $54 primary textbook for his sections of HIS 2053 with a UTSA Libraries’ e-book, A History of Texas, that is free for students.

More from Valerio-Jimenez:

“I am interested in adopting low cost/no cost learning materials in order to make sure that all students have access to the course materials without regard to costs. After speaking with several undergraduates about the costs of textbooks, I have realized that these costs can be significant for some students. I did some research on OER and found that the Chronicle of Higher Education estimated that 7 in 10 students did not obtain textbooks because they were too expensive, and that some 60% of students have delayed purchasing a textbook until they received financial aid. So using OER or e-book resources will obviously address some of the obstacles to accessibility. I hope to increase student learning and completion of assignments by assigning a no cost e-book.

 While I have not taught Texas History (HIS2053) before, I was excited to learn that the book that I had planned to assign, A History of Texas, is available as an e-book through our university library. Once I teach Texas History (HIS2053) using the e-book, I will have the necessary experience to recommend the e-book to other colleagues who teach the same course. One of the main challenges in a large survey course (with many non-history majors enrolled in the course) like HIS 2053 is motivating students to complete the reading on time. I believe having unlimited access to the textbook as an e-book will help students complete their course readings, and succeed in the course.”