Developing an Undergraduate Business Course Using Open Educational Resources

Abstract

There are growing concerns about the affordability and accessibility of post-secondary education. This has resulted in increased attention to the inclusion of open educational resources (OERs) as course materials rather than commercial course resources. OERs are mostly cost-neutral for students. In this research, an elective course for business students was developed using only OERs. To assist with the selection of OERs to be included in this course, an OER evaluation tool available online was used. Resources that were considered and were evaluated using the tool included traditional OERs (fully open), those in the public domain (unrestricted by licensing), and resources that are publicly available for educational purposes. An important contribution of this research is the extension of the definition of OERs to include publicly available resources. This paper reports on the results of this process and students’ perceptions about the inclusion of OERs in their course. Recommendations for further research and for practice are shared.