Hidden Impacts of OER: Effects of OER on Instructor Ratings and Course Selection

Amy T Nusbaum,Carrie Cuttler

doi:10.3389/feduc.2020.00072

Abstract

One solution to the increasing cost of textbooks is open educational resources (OER). While previous studies have evaluated the effects of OER on student performance and perceptions of the material quality, few studies have evaluated other possible effects of OER. The goal of these studies was to examine whether the use of OER changes students’ perceptions of instructors whether students are more likely to select hypothetical courses using OER than courses using commercial materials. Results indicated that instructors assigned to use OER were rated more positively than those assigned a commercial textbook and students were more likely to select courses that had no course costs. These findings should motivate instructors and universities to adopt and advertise their OER use.

Highlights

The rapid rise in textbook costs in the United States (US Public Interest Research Group, 2014) has motivated a drive to increase the use of open educational resources (OER), which are freely available and have liberal copyright licenses which allow for modification of content
We examined whether participants were more likely to select courses when they were listed as having no cost vs. when they were listed as having an associated textbook cost
Study 1 demonstrated that students who were enrolled in actual courses using OER rated their instructors significantly more positively on many descriptors than students enrolled in courses using a commercial textbook

Summary

Introduction

The rapid rise in textbook costs in the United States (US Public Interest Research Group, 2014) has motivated a drive to increase the use of open educational resources (OER), which are freely available and have liberal copyright licenses which allow for modification of content (i.e., editing, remixing). One popular approach to studying OER is the Cost, Outcomes, Use, Perceptions (COUP; Bliss et al, 2013) framework. This framework has guided much of the early research on OER and provides a multifaceted view of how use of OER can affect both students and instructors. Recent research suggests that the use of OER may have enhanced benefits for students who are racial minorities and those with financial need. Colvard et al found that OER improved grades and reduced D/F/W rates (i.e., students who earn a D/F in the class or withdraw from the class) for all students, but at even higher rates for racial minorities, part-time students, and Pell-eligible students (Colvard et al, 2018)

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Conclusion