Nyack, NY – May 10, 2010 – With faculty in the midst of making textbook decisions for the fall 2010 semester, Flat World Knowledge, the leading publisher of commercial, openly-licensed college textbooks, today announced a new online adoption process that makes it easy for educators to adopt its textbooks in full compliance with new provisions in the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), which was enacted by Congress in August, 2008.

HEOA is a law that seeks to make higher education more accessible to students. One of its primary goals is to reduce the cost of textbooks for college students. Adopting Flat World Knowledge textbooks not only helps universities comply with HEOA, but also helps them meet the spirit of the law, by providing textbooks that are available for free online, and in low-cost print, audio and downloadable versions.

“Our new adoption process is the fastest way for professors and administrators to adopt our low-cost textbooks and help their institutions comply with the HEOA regulations,” said Eric Frank, founder of Flat World Knowledge. “Whether students choose to read our textbooks for free online, or buy books directly from us or from their bookstore, no other publisher goes further than Flat World to comply with the HEOA to make education more accessible and affordable.”

Effective July 1, 2010, HEOA mandates institutions disclose textbook prices earlier and post them publicly, along with the International Standard Book Number (ISBN), the 13-digit number that identifies a book and its supplementary products. The purpose of the provision is to help college students determine what their textbook costs will be before registration, and to know which version of textbooks professors will be using. Armed with ISBN numbers and published prices, students can then make informed decisions about which classes to take based on textbook costs and where to purchase the texts.

With Flat World’s online adoption system, faculty and administrators can adopt an open textbook within minutes. Once the form is completed, an email is sent to the professor with the textbook’s ISBN number and other relevant information. Faculty can then quickly complete their bookstore’s textbook ordering process and provide their institution with the information for HEOA compliance.

Flat World’s open textbook model eliminates textbook cost as a barrier to higher education. Unlike conventional textbook publishers, Flat World’s open publishing license gives students a choice of price and format.

They can access high-quality texts for free online, or choose low-cost options that better suit their learning needs, such as print-on-demand, audio and downloadable versions. For the fall semester, ePub versions for handheld readers will be available. Students routinely save more than 80 percent of the cost of a traditional textbook.

The open textbook format also meets the needs of students with print disabilities. By making the textbooks available in DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) and BRF (Braille Ready Format) formats, Flat World is helping to remove yet another barrier to education.

For faculty, Flat World’s online platform gives them the freedom to control the textbook’s content by remixing, reordering, and adding and deleting material to adapt to the specific needs of their students and curriculum.

"After using a Flat World open textbook for three semesters in my marketing course, the sustainable benefits to my students and me are proof that this new model works,” said Audrey Ashton-Savage, Adjunct Associate Professor of Marketing, in the Whittemore School of Business and Economics, at the University of New Hampshire. “The cost of the textbook for my course has dropped from $180 to $29.95 ― and many of my students appreciate the free online option. My students love having choices, and I feel good about being a part of solving a critical market problem.”

To learn more about Flat World’s online adoption process and HEOA compliance, visit: www.flatworldknowledge.com/heoa.

The company’s growing catalog includes 20 published titles written by top experts in their field, including popular business, marketing and economics courses. Dozens more titles are under development covering general education subjects, such as algebra, psychology, sociology, genetics, media and culture, and more. Within the next three years, the Flat World catalog will grow to cover all 25 of the highest-enrollment college courses.

In January, the Horizon Report, an annual research project of the New Media Consortium and the Educause Learning Initiative, cited Flat World Knowledge as being at the forefront of the open content movement, which it called one of the top educational technology trends of 2010. Separately, Fortune magazine’s Small Business edition named Flat World one of “Five Companies to Watch in 2009,” and Outsell, a media industry analyst firm, named Flat World one of “30 Innovators to Watch” (alongside Apple, Google, and Hulu).

About Flat World Knowledge, Inc.
Founded in 2007 by senior textbook industry executives, privately-held Flat World Knowledge is the leading publisher of commercial, openly-licensed college textbooks. To date, more than 50,000 students in over 500 universities and colleges have benefited from Flat World textbooks in their classes. Written by the world’s leading subject matter experts, Flat World books are peer reviewed, and professionally edited and developed. Educators have the freedom to use the books as-is, or to modify them to suit their requirements. Students can access the books for free online, or purchase low-cost print-on-demand, audio and downloadable versions, as well as a variety of study aids at a fraction of the cost of traditional textbooks. More information is available at: http://www.flatworldknowledge.com.
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