As a part Office of the CIO, WebStore‘s collaboration with the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning provides access to the best discounted online textbooks for students, faculty and staff. Managed by the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning and distributed through the Technology Services WebStore, eText provides online textbooks with interactive learning materials, offering multimedia content on web or mobile browsers. Illinois’ eText also features integrated note-taking and embedded assignments, enhancing the digital learning experience while reducing costs for students.
Available through the WebStore, eTexts are either adapted versions of physical textbooks from major publishers or content written directly by university professors. While most of the eTexts are used for classroom content, university staff have recently also begun to create training content distributed to staff via eText.
From 2014 to now: eText growth and sustainability
Illinois’ eText has grown significantly over the past decade. Since 2014, eText sales have steadily increased, with revenue in 2024 reaching more than four times its 2014 level.
According to eText program manager Yury Borukhovich, the need for eText rose a decade ago in response to a lack of available accessible-first platforms.
“Instead of making just a one-off eBook we decided to build a whole system that could support multimedia, was accessible from the start and was much less expensive to students. We are hoping to take it one step further by offering more free materials to students,” Borukhovich said.
Andre Krabbe, the assistant director of software services for the WebStore, highlights how eText content helps both students and the university save money. According to Krabbe, “eText content available through the WebStore is created by University of Illinois professors, which eliminates the need to pay high prices to publishers. The revenue generated from eText sales is reinvested back into the college to fund further content creation. This model not only reduces textbook costs for students but also supports the university’s continued development of academic resources.” As a cost-effective alternative to traditional textbooks, eTexts sell for about 40-75% less. According to Borukhovich, the average cost of an eText is around $20.
More about eText
Beyond its affordability, eText offers many benefits.
Accessibility.
Illinois eText, both as a platform and in its content, meets and exceeds ADA 508 accessibility standards. With eText, accessibility is central to its creation, not an additional feature. Read more about eText’s commitment to accessibility. Borukhovich highlights some of the accessibility features of eText:
- Dyslexic-friendly fonts.
- Navigation with tab and arrow keys.
- Accessible math equations.
- New books have optional long descriptions for images including charts, graphs and infographics that go beyond simple alt text.
Enhanced study tools.
Students can benefit from many study tools in eTexts, such as:
- A search function to search for terms through the text.
- A highlighter function with four different colors.
- A notes function where students can leave personal notes or post questions for the instructor, and the instructor can answer it directly through the eText.
- Instructors can also leave assignments embedded directly into the eText.
Read more about eText’s study features.
Instructors can choose to use eText if the textbook they need is available via eText format or if they want to use original authored content. Learn more about how to use eText as an instructor.
Where is eText going?
While eText is available for any content area, there are some patterns in its current use.
“Most of our books come from the humanities, but we also have scientific and engineering content. Some of our most used books are the ones in our Skill Based Building Blocks series which help students acclimate to college life and beyond. The series covers topics like nutrition, financial literacy, learning how to learn, how to use the library effectively, mental health and even cybersecurity,” Borukhovich said.
While eText’s current highest usage is for classroom content, university staff have increasingly been developing eText-based training materials for internal use.
Meanwhile, Borukhovich hopes to convince more faculty to make content free to students.
“We do have some on board already, but not many since many departments need the extra income from sales of the book. But the fact that we now do have a free model has opened discussions with the library and we hope to be able to collaborate with them on open educational resources,” Borukhovich said.
Borukhovich shared that eText at Illinois is constantly evaluating how to become better, and evolve more with advancing technology. “AIi will play a role in the future as well, but we need to make sure it is safe and private. We have some cool ideas related to that, but I can’t share them at the moment.”
Borukhovich noted that the eText team is developing a Canvas connector to integrate eText with Canvas quizzes and assignments. Additionally, they are preparing to start work on an advanced content editing system to help authors review and fix content mistakes before saving.
For more information on eText as a student, instructor or publisher, visit eText at Illinois.