The $5 million budget offered for studying OER for people in college is one step in reducing costs. There are times when a single text book can cost over $200. That is not to say the authors don't deserve it but that the cost can be prohibitive to students. Amazon has a rental program that is also helpful that also is fairly expensive. I have two fundamental questions related to their potential usage as well as whether or not students can learn on their own.
Will OER be used?
That depends on whether or not professors actually assign these books. They are likely to be used by open access education but there is a stake professors have in some books that they have written. Sometimes they simply support their own researchers at the university or who support their viewpoints.
Can students learn on their own?
It is important to remember that university is based in knowledge they don't have a monopoly on knowledge. What they have a monopoly on is whether a person is certified to have that knowledge. It lends to the authentication that a person has gained certain knowledge. However, someone could theoretically read all these books on their own and have the same knowledge as the professor.
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