OER Part 2: Removing a Costly Barrier in Education


Snapshot

Type of Interaction: Synchronous, Asynchronous
Type of Course: Hybrid, Flipped, Online, Face-to-Face


For a reminder of OER basics, read OER PART 1: What is OER? and Using OER to Supplement an Online Course.

Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning and research materials in any medium – digital or otherwise – that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions.

                                                                                    ~ William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

According to CollegeSimply.com (2019), Texas State University costs, on average, around $23,130 annually for in state residents and $34,750 annually for out of state students. These figures do not count the interest that is accrued on the loans many students must take to go to University. By the time a student finishes a 4-year degree, they could feasibly spend between $100,000 – $150,000 for their education. These debts are incurred through tuition, room and board, extra in-course expenses, and, of course, textbooks. With the ever-rising rates, students are cash-strapped and looking for ways to cut costs while earning their degree.

Top Hat Marketplace, a crowdsourced open education resource for educators, studied how students viewed textbooks and resources used in standard college courses. They found that a surprising number of students did not buy a textbook for the courses they were in, even if the student felt it might hurt their grades.

The statistics range from 40% – 65% of students in any given class will not buy a textbook because they feel they cannot afford it.  Out of the ones that do buy textbooks, 29.7% (of 4-year students) will have to use financial aid to do so.

With costs spiraling out of control, a viable yet academically rigorous option is needed. This is where OER shines. Open Educational Resources are free or low-cost to print academic resources. OERs are openly licensed and can include print or digital materials such as videos, lesson notes, assignments, assessments, and, of course, textbooks and are usually backed by experts in the subject’s field.

Professors can find a high-quality learning experience for the student with a free or next-to-nothing cost. This gives students the ability to not only rely on what is said in class, but to interact with the course materials in a variety of ways.  Plus, OERs are easy to distribute widely, can be improved or updated quickly, and are usually edited and accessed by professionals in the field, making sure that the information contained in the resources is accurate and up to date.

Access to textbooks should not be a barrier to success. If we open the way to use OER, then students will have access to course materials they may have otherwise deemed as costing too much, even if it negatively affects their GPA. If we, as educators, give students open access to the course materials, we can remove a significant obstacle on their academic journey.

References

Ashford, E. (2017, Feb 4). More colleges use open educational resources. Community College Daily. Retrieved from http://www.ccdaily.com/2017/02/more-colleges-use-open-educational-resources/

CollegeSimply. (2019). Texas State tuition & cost. CollegeSimply.com Retrieved from https://www.collegesimply.com/colleges/texas/texas-state-university/price/

Preville, P. (2018). The death of textbook publishing & the future of college course content. Tophatmonocle Corp. Retrieved from https://tophat.com/teaching-resources/ebooks-and-guides/death-textbook-publishing-future-college-course-content/

Top Hat. (2017). The ultimate guide to Open Educational Resources. Tophatmonocle Corp. Retrieved from https://tophat.com/ebooks/ultimate-guide-to-oer-open-educational-resources/

ValuePenguin. (2019). Average cost of college in America: 2019 report. Lendingtree. Retrieved from https://www.valuepenguin.com/student-loans/average-cost-of-college

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