The initiative is expected to benefit at least 76,000 students.

Red Alert Politics reports.

New program rids students of text books, saving thousands

Students at some community colleges will have the opportunity to save money on textbooks by replacing them with open-source materials, thanks to a new initiative.

Achieving the Dream launched the “open educational resources degree initiative,” which could save students as much as $1,300 a year, The Washington Post reported.

The initiative will take place over three years and “will lay the groundwork for nationwide adoption of OER degrees.”

The 38 colleges in 13 states (New York, Texas, Virginia, Minnesota, California, Florida, Washington, Connecticut, Arizona, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, and North Carolina) “were selected through a competitive grant process based on their ability and capacity to implement OER degree programs, offer the full complement of degree courses quickly, or quickly scale the number of sections offered,” Achieving the Dream explained.