Abstract
<p class="3"><em>Open Educational Resources</em> (OER) have the potential to replace traditional textbooks in higher education. Previous studies indicate that use of OER results in high student and faculty satisfaction, lower costs, and similar or better educational outcomes. In this case study, we compared students using traditional textbooks with those using OER at Tidewater Community College to compare their performance on what we call course throughput rates, which is an aggregate of three variables – drop rates, withdrawal rates, and C or better rates. Two self-selecting cohorts were compared over four semesters, with statistically significant results. The study found that, subject to the limitations discussed, students who use OER perform significantly better on the course throughput rate than their peers who use traditional textbooks, in both face-to-face and online courses that use OER. This suggests that OER are a promising avenue for reducing the costs of higher education while increasing academic success.</p>
Highlights
The high cost of textbooks represents a significant challenge in higher education in the United States
One solution to the high cost of textbooks is found in a replacement for textbooks called Open Educational Resources (OER)
The term Open Educational Resources comes from the 2002 UNESCO Forum on the Impact of Open Courseware for Higher Education in Developing Countries, which defined OER as “The open provision of educational resources, enabled by information and communication technologies, for consultation, use and adaptation by a community of users for non-commercial purposes” (UNESCO, 2002, p. 24)
Summary
The high cost of textbooks represents a significant challenge in higher education in the United States. Nearly half of students reported that the cost of textbooks caused them to take fewer courses, and one-third stated that they had earned a poor grade in a subject because they could not afford to buy the textbook. One solution to the high cost of textbooks is found in a replacement for textbooks called Open Educational Resources (OER). OER are free educational materials that are licensed in such a way so Helping More Students to Graduate on Time: Open Educational Resources as a Lever Hilton, Fischer, Wiley, and Williams as to grant legal permissions to reuse, remix, and redistribute them. OER are free educational materials that are licensed in such a way so Helping More Students to Graduate on Time: Open Educational Resources as a Lever Hilton, Fischer, Wiley, and Williams as to grant legal permissions to reuse, remix, and redistribute them. Wiley, Bliss, and McEwen (2014) chronicle many aspects of the growth and development of OER since its inception
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