Benjamin Mis, an assistant psychology professor at Irvine Valley College, is ditching a $100 textbook and will instead assign his Introduction to Psychology students in the spring semester an open-source book that will cost as low as ... free.

“Books can cost more than the courses, in some of the cases,” Mis said. “I’ve seen students struggle.”

Mis is among a small yet growing group of higher-education instructors in California who are trying to keep academic costs down by using open texts, which are written by faculty and vetted by their peers. Since these books are published under an open license, they’re usually free to download or are sold for roughly what it costs to print.

This strategy addresses the ever-growing issue of textbook affordability. College textbook costs have risen more than three times the rate of inflation since 1978, according to a 2015 report from the Student Public Interest Research Groups.

In the upcoming semester, Mis plans to use an open text published by OpenStax, a Rice University-based non-profit program that produces such materials. The program is funded by foundations including the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation and the Hewlett Foundation. OpenStax says more than 540,000 students across the country, including nine schools in Orange County, use their books.

Mis downloaded and read OpenStax’s Introduction to Psychology book and said it’s as good as any comparable book out there. When he pitched the idea to his department and dean, they were “extremely supportive,” he said.

OpenStax is among five vetted sources where faculty at the UC, Cal State and California community college systems can find and use open textbooks, says the California Open Educational Resources Council. The council was assembled to determine suitable open textbooks that can be used in 50 lower-division courses, which tend to have higher enrollment.

The council - made up of faculty members across the state - has so far been successful in finding at least one “highly rated” textbook for most of the courses identified, including College Algebra and Introduction to Education, according to the council’s latest report.

For courses where they haven’t found a suitable open text, the group will reach out to department chair possible alternatives, or look at the possibility of creating new, open-source materials as part of AB 798, a bill recently signed by Gov. Jerry Brown that would offer incentives to schools that embrace the open textbook initiative.

Of course, one challenge for open-source advocates is adoption.

Neither AB 798 nor SB 1052 -- the bill that created the open-source book council -- requires schools to use these more affordable course materials.

Some professors are approaching open materials with caution, as reported by my colleague Teri Sforza.

"I worked with the academic senates, and they were very clear that they wanted to learn about OER, but didn't want to be forced to use it," Sarah Brady, a legislative aide to Assemblywoman Susan A. Bonilla (D-Concord), told the Register. Bonilla authored AB 798, also known as the College Textbook Affordability Act.

Are you a higher-education instructor in Orange County and are using an open-source textbook? Let us know which one and why.

Contact the writer: lleung@ocregister.com or (714) 796-4976. Twitter @LilyShumLeungSend tips to watchdog@ocregister.com