Image by Open Scotland is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research resources that are free of cost and access barriers and also carry legal permission for open use. They include a multitude of formats including textbooks, full courses, modules, videos, labs, assignments, syllabi, and assessments. What distinguishes them from other free materials is their open license, typically a Creative Commons license.
OER are licensed to enable adopters to utilize David Wiley's 5 Rs, all without asking permission:
"The 5 Rs of OER" is a derivative of the 5 R Permissions of OER by Lumen Learning, is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Why are OER important?
Adapted from "What are open educational resources (OERs)?" from the University of Melbourne Library by permission.
Cost barriers and local impact:
As textbook costs continue to rise and outpace overall inflation, the cost and availability of textbooks has become a significant barrier to student success. A 2022 survey of over 13,000 students in Florida's public colleges and universities found that 53.5% of respondents did not purchase a required text book due to cost (FLVC Survey, 2022). The 2021 Virginia Course Materials Survey, found that "course material costs hurt students’ academic careers in the areas of progress (taking fewer courses), opportunity (not registering for specific courses), and success (earning poor grades and failing)” (VIVA, 2021).
Similarly, A 2023 small-scale survey of 778 South Carolina students across 19 institutions revealed similar, worrisome findings; 82% of respondents in SC reported that they had not purchased some or all materials required for a course, and 39% reported they had taken fewer courses in a semester due to textbook costs.
Image from Six Reasons to Embrace Open Education by PASCAL SCALE used by permission.
Check out these subguides to learn more about OER and how to be involved!
