Abstract
Our study found that most students considered OER to be as good or better in terms of quality and engagement as traditional texts, while also allowing them to put saved funds toward their educational pursuits. As rising costs in higher education affect current and potential students, faculty and students are looking for ways to cut costs where possible. Open educational resources (OER) are a viable option to replace expensive traditional textbooks without sacrificing quality. This article presents the results of a study conducted with students at a Virginia community college who took courses that used OER. At the end of the semester, students were asked to rate their perceptions of the OER quality and their level of engagement with OER as compared to traditional textbooks. Results indicate that a majority of students found the OER to be as good as or better than traditional textbooks in both quality and engagement. While similar studies have been conducted, this study also asked students to briefly describe how they used the money saved by not having to purchase a textbook. Many students indicated they used the money to reinvest in their education by paying tuition, purchasing materials for other courses, or taking additional courses; day-to-day expenses and savings were the next most common responses. Further research needs to be conducted to understand the effect these savings and reinvestment have on students’ completion of academic goals.
Highlights
Costs for students in higher education are rising and moving college out of reach for more and more prospective students (Mitchell & Leachman, 2015). Chen (2016) found that freshman enrollment rates are inversely proportional to the costs of university tuition and fees
While the authors stipulate that there are many further variables to consider in terms of costs, they feel that that these findings suggest that adopting Open educational resources (OER) and hybrid learning can cut costs while maintaining, or even improving, student outcomes, which is a concern for many educators looking to adopt OER
During the Fall 2014 semester, 11 faculty members from a variety of subject areas at Reynolds Community College met regularly to develop OER materials for their assigned courses. These efforts were the result of the Textbook Costs and Digital Learning Resources (TCDLR) initiative in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) that culminated with a final report in 2014
Summary
Costs for students in higher education are rising and moving college out of reach for more and more prospective students (Mitchell & Leachman, 2015). Chen (2016) found that freshman enrollment rates are inversely proportional to the costs of university tuition and fees. Costs of higher education include items such as tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and transportation. One area where faculty and students can affect higher education prices is textbook costs. Due to copyright laws, which often prevent professors from selecting and remixing relevant content in traditional textbooks, instructors may require students to purchase multiple resources. Open educational resources (OER) are one alternative to traditional, high-cost textbooks. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation define OER as: teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others. Open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge. Open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge. (Hewlett Foundation, n.d.)
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