OpenStax is part of Rice University, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable corporation. As an educational initiative, OpenStax is on a mission to transform learning so that education works for every student. Through partnerships with philanthropic foundations and its alliance with other educational resource companies, OpenStax is breaking down the most common barriers to learning. The project believes that everyone should and can have access to knowledge.

OpenStax textbooks are being used in 60% of college and universities in the U.S. and over 100 countries, but there’s still room to grow. Alongside efforts to expand the library, OpenStax has been taking steps toward improving student learning and advancing research in learning science. Access is just the beginning. OpenStax wants to make educational tools better for a new generation of learners.

The mission of OpenStax extends beyond increasing access to education. The OpenStax research team conducts cutting-edge research on student learning, leveraging cognitive science and machine learning to improve student success. With the support of philanthropic foundations, OpenStax is actively working to improve learning outcomes for students and advance the field of learning science.

OpenStax was founded in 1999 by Richard Baraniuk, an electrical engineering professor at Rice University. Originally named Connexions, OpenStax started as an Open Educational Resource (OER) repository where faculty around the world could publish, share, and remix educational materials. OpexStax started publishing its own line of free, peer-reviewed textbooks in 2012 to maximize its impact by providing high quality, flexible, turnkey resources for instructors and students at little to no cost.