Use Open Educational Resources to Reduce Financial Barriers to Academic Success
Use this brief to learn more about open educational resources and the role they play in increasing student equity.
An important component of the college affordability conversation is the rising cost of course materials. According to the College Board, the average college student should budget more than $1,200 per year for textbooks and supplies. Similarly, an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data found that between 1977 and 2015 the cost of textbooks has increased by 1,041%.
This rise in the price of textbooks and supporting materials has serious student success implications as students delay purchasing textbooks or even decide which course to take based on the cost of materials.
To overcome these hurdles, institutions often prioritize large enrollment courses with costly textbooks. Many faculty and staff use existing rubrics to check the accuracy, relevance, and accessibility of available resources before including them in their courses.
This resource is part of the Facilitate Student-Centered Course Redesign Roadmap. Access the Roadmap for stepwise guidance with additional tools and research.
Some institutions leverage the expertise in their libraries and centers for teaching and learning (CTL) or hire dedicated OER support staff to help facilitate campus-wide adoption.
$1,200+
To fully realize the potential pedagogical benefits of open educational resource use, faculty can work with their CTLs to redesign their courses. This can take many forms: faculty may need to redesign courses to use non-textbook materials or to create a cohesive narrative around disparate learning materials. However, the extent to which some of these challenges inhibit broader adoption often depends on the approach used, available resources, and the level of the course.
Achieve multiple student success goals with open educational resources
There are three mains ways institutions and faculty adopt OER. Often faculty browse OER repositories like Openstax and MERLOT to replace an expensive textbook with a free alternative.
This approach is ideal for introductory and general education courses where there is less need for content customization and course redesign.
In cases where existing open educational resources is insufficient, some institutions use provost or system-level grant programs to incentivize faculty to create new resources. Once faculty proposals are accepted, the CTL and other relevant offices provide the necessary technical, logistical, and pedagogical support services.
Explore the promises and pitfalls of OER
5.5%
As institutions consider promoting the adoption of OER, it is important to delve into the impact and challenges of such efforts. Undoubtedly, OER adoption can reduce the cost of course materials for students. However, little research has been done on the student success impact of OER.
One study at University of Georgia found that the use of OER was associated with a 2.68% decrease in DFW rates, 5.5% increase in the number of A grades, and a 7.73% increase in the number of A-minus grades. This effect was more pronounced for underrepresented students. The authors posit that this positive result is because with the use of OER students have access to materials on the first day of class.
This resource requires EAB partnership access to view.
Access the research report
Learn how you can get access to this resource as well as hands-on support from our experts through Strategic Advisory Services.
Learn More