Why use OER?
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education (2011), 7 out of 10 students did not purchase a required textbook because the cost was too high. Imagine the impact this has on student learning!
OER offers faculty the opportunity to:
- Make learning more affordable, equitable and accessible for your students
- Customize your course materials with easily adaptable materials
- Control the quality of your course materials, as well as the timing of updates
- Offer students an online option
- Review OER to support other faculty and to strengthen coverage in your field
- Potential for collaborative projects with faculty and other students in creating OER
Fixing the broken textbook market
Nagle, C., & Vitez, K. (2020). Fixing the broken textbook market (2nd ed.). U.S. PIRG Education Fund. (Excerpt from the Executive Summary)
1. Two-thirds of students continue to skip buying assigned textbooks.
2. About one in five students skip buying access codes necessary to complete assignments.
3. Almost every respondent worried forgoing these materials would impact their grade.
4. The cost of course materials has a broad impact on the lives of students.
• 25 percent of all surveyed students reported needing to work extra hours to afford course materials.
• 22 percent of all surveyed students prioritized purchasing access codes over other course materials.
• 19 percent of all surveyed students have made decisions on which classes to take because of materials cost.
• 11 percent of all surveyed students report skipping meals due to materials costs.
5. Students are unaware of their data privacy and use by ed tech companies.