Faculty at Montana Tech Develop Open Textbook for Intermediate College Writing Courses

Much of what happens in college courses is tied to textbooks, from reading and writing assignments, to course projects and lesson activities, to quizzes and exams. Faced with the choice to pay for living expenses or college textbooks, university students may understandably delay or forgo the purchase of pricey commercially produced texts—a decision that can undermine their success. Faculty wishing to remove the burden of this difficult decision and reduce university costs for students fortunately have a new resource available in the form of Intermediate College Writing: Building and Practicing Mindful Writing Skills, an open textbook developed by Montana Technological University writing instructors Dawn Atkinson and Stacey Corbitt.

Recognizing the need for a no-cost publication that integrates study skills work with reviews of key topics, such as academic integrity, and thoughtfully designed writing opportunities, authors Atkinson and Corbitt designed the textbook—available at open.umn.edu…—for use in intermediate college writing courses. The textbook’s Creative Commons license means instructors can adopt it as is, opt to use select chapters, or customize it for their own writing courses. The book is the second in an open-textbook series produced by this faculty writing team.

Compared to the cost of purchasing a similar commercially produced text, the open textbook will save a class of 20 students more than $2300 combined. Montana Technological University’s writing faculty will begin using the book, which covers both academic and workplace writing genres, during fall semester 2022.

The authors gratefully acknowledge assistance from Montana Technological University, in particular Chancellor Les Cook and Dean Michele Hardy, whose support helped make the textbook project a reality.

Montana Technological University is a premier STEM-focused university in Butte, Montana. As the special focus university in the state of Montana, Montana Tech offers transformational opportunities for all students through hands-on, applied, and experiential learning. Montana Tech has evolved into a dynamic institution which connects focused students to a network of people, opportunities, and experiences that empower them to change the world. Montana Tech offers world-class opportunities in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, health, and business. For more information, go to www.mtech.edu.

For more information, please contact Dr. Dawn Atkinson at 406.496.4728 or datkinson@mtech.edu.