By M’hammed Abdous

According to a recent report by Bay View Analytics, open educational resources (OER)—freely available educational materials that faculty can retain, remix, revise, reuse, and redistribute—are playing an increasingly important role in American higher education.  The report found that 64% of faculty were familiar with OER in 2023, an increase of 7% from the previous year (Seaman & Seaman, 2023). This increased familiarity reflects a growing awareness of the financial burden that traditional textbooks place on students.  In fact, 62% of faculty and 78% of administrators agree that the cost of course materials is a significant burden on students.  Despite this, adoption of OER remains low, with only 29% of faculty using them (Seaman & Seaman, 2023).

Several factors contribute to this low adoption of OER. Many faculty prefer commercial publishers because of their broader content coverage, extensive resources, and concerns that the peer review process for OER undermines the quality of scholarship and the prestige of publication. Beyond these concerns, it's well-documented that finding, adapting, and aligning OER with specific course goals can be time-consuming, especially for faculty who already carry heavy workloads (Tosun & Altintas, 2024). Relatedly, more than half of faculty are unfamiliar with available OER programs and Creative Commons licensing, highlighting the need for clearer communication and support (Seaman & Seaman, 2023).

In terms of the benefits of OER, studies show that their impact extends well beyond cost savings and significantly improves student learning, engagement, and the overall academic experience. For example, a meta-analysis by Clinton and Khan (2019) found no significant difference in learning outcomes between open and commercial textbooks, addressing concerns about the quality of OER. Furthermore, the analysis found that students in courses using open textbooks had lower attrition rates, suggesting that OER could improve course completion.

Similarly, the financial benefits of OER are particularly impactful for institutions serving underrepresented populations. In a large-scale study, Colvard, Watson, and Park (2018) examined 21,822 students and found that OER adoption not only reduced student debt, but also led to better end-of-course grades while reducing D, F, and Withdrawal (DFW) rates. These gains were even more pronounced for Pell Grant recipients, part-time students, and historically underserved populations, demonstrating OER's potential to help close achievement gaps.

Beyond their cost-saving advantages, OER allow for greater flexibility in the classroom. Hilton's 2020 synthesis of 36 studies involving more than 121,000 students and faculty examined how OER affects student efficacy and perceptions. The results show that students perform as well or better with OER while saving money. Most faculty and students who used OER reported positive experiences and expressed interest in continuing to use these resources.

Moreover, OER foster a more inclusive educational environment, especially at institutions that serve diverse populations and strive for social justice. Stanberry (2022) highlights how OER support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) by providing culturally relevant, accessible materials that contribute to a welcoming learning atmosphere. This is especially important for institutions like Old Dominion University, which serves many first-generation and underrepresented students.

Finally, OER offer significant benefits to general education (GenEd) courses, by improving access, affordability, and academic outcomes (Varma & Ren, 2023). OER reduce the financial burden for underrepresented and financially disadvantaged students, helping them stay enrolled and succeed. Furthermore, Varma and Ren (2023) emphasize that the adaptability of OER allows instructors to tailor materials to better align with course objectives, which in turn increases student engagement and learning.  This ability to personalize learning experiences, coupled with the ability to reduce financial barriers, makes OER a powerful tool for fostering a more inclusive and adaptive educational environment. Such an environment is critical during the foundational years of college (Varma & Ren, 2023).

Given these wide-ranging benefits of OER for students, faculty, and institutions, integrating them effectively into higher education requires a multi-pronged approach structured around three dimensions: institutional policy and infrastructure, faculty engagement and support, and quality assurance and innovation:

 

  1. Institutional Policy and Infrastructure

    1. Establish clear policies and guidelines: To ensure long-term OER adoption, institutions must develop long-term funding strategies, curricular integration, and quality assurance processes. These policies should prioritize the development and sustainability of high-quality OER, especially in resource-constrained disciplines.
    2. Build robust OER infrastructure: Instead of simply "investing," institutions should actively cultivate platforms and repositories that facilitate the discovery and use of OER. Seamless integration with existing institutional systems, such as OER Commons and MERLOT, is crucial. Ease of access and discoverability are key for both faculty and students.
    3. Close the digital divide: To ensure equitable access to OER, institutions must address technology gaps by providing students with the tools they need. Making OER materials available in multiple formats to meet different learning needs will help bridge this divide.
  2. Faculty Engagement and Support
    1. Incentivize faculty: Encouraging faculty to adopt OER through grants, release time, and recognition in tenure and promotion decisions is essential. Ongoing professional development should focus on training faculty to create, curate, and assess OER, while simplifying Creative Commons licensing for them.
    2. Foster collaboration through a campus-wide OER ecosystem: Cross-disciplinary collaboration through workshops, mentorship programs, and institutional repositories can create a supportive environment for faculty. Collaboration among librarians, IT staff, and faculty is critical to sustaining a vibrant OER community.
  3. Quality Assurance and Innovation
    1. Encourage peer-reviewed OER: To guarantee OER materials meet academic standards, institutions should champion peer review and faculty-led quality assessments. Trust in OER can be built by showcasing successful models, like OpenStax.
    2. Leverage emerging technologies like Generative AI (GenAI): New tools such as GenAI can transform the OER landscape by automating content creation, curating resources, and developing adaptive assessments. However, it is crucial to proactively address ethical concerns—such as biases, accuracy, and proper attribution.
    3. Design for accessibility and inclusion: OER should prioritize the needs of students by adhering to universal design and accessibility principles. Involving students in the design process, where possible, will ensure that materials are inclusive and responsive to different learning styles.
       

In conclusion, OER is transforming higher education and should be a critical part of on-going campus conversations about student learning. Engaging faculty, investing in their professional development, and establishing clear policies are critical to realizing the full potential of OER. By combining these efforts with rigorous research on the effectiveness of OER and integrating them into existing systems, institutions can create a more equitable, inclusive, and accessible learning environment for all students.

 

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