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Open Educational Resources (OER)

This guide is intended to help faculty and staff learn more about Open Educational Resources (OER).

Reference List

Brandle, S., Katz, S., Hays, A., Beth, A., Cooney, C., DiSanto, J., Miles, L., & Morrison, A. (2019). But what do the students think: Results of the CUNY cross-campus zero-textbook cost student survey. Open Praxis, 11(1), 85–101. https://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.11.1.932. 

“Of 882 respondents in a spring 2018 survey of students in City University of New York (CUNY) Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) courses, 90% of students accessed either prior to or in the first week of class.”


Colvard, N., Watson, E., & Park, H. (2018). The impact of Open Educational Resources on various student success metrics. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 30(2), 262–276.

OER improve end-of-course grades and decrease DFW (D, F, and Withdrawal letter grades) rates for all students for Pell recipient students, part-time students, and populations historically underserved by higher education.


Fischer, L., Hilton, J., Robinson, T. J., & Wiley, D. A. (2015). A multi-institutional study of the impact of open textbook adoption on the learning outcomes of post-secondary students. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 27(3), 159–172. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-015-9101-x


Florida Virtual Campus. (2019). 2018 Florida Student Textbook & Course Materials Survey. https://dlss.flvc.org/documents/210036/1314923/2018+Student+Textbook+and+Course+Materials+Survey+Report+--+FINAL+VERSION+--+20190308.pdf/07478d85-89c2-3742-209a-9cc5df8cd7ea


Grissett, J. O., & Huffman, C. (2019). An open versus traditional psychology textbook: Student performance, perceptions, and use. Psychology Learning & Teaching, 18(1), 21–35. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475725718810181.

No significant differences in course performance or textbook use across two sections of an introductory psychology course.


Hardin, E. E., Eschman, B., Spengler, E. S., Grizzell, J. A., Moody, A. T., Ross-Sheehy, S., & Fry, K. M. (2019). What happens when trained graduate student instructors switch to an open textbook? A controlled study of the impact on student learning outcomes. Psychology Learning & Teaching, 18(1), 48–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475725718810909

“Finally, students from traditionally underserved populations reported the lower cost of the book had a significantly higher impact on their decision to enroll in and remain enrolled in the course.”


Hilton III, J. (2016). Open Educational Resources and college textbook choices: A review of research on efficacy and perceptions. Educational Technology Research & Development, 64(4), 573–590. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-016-9434-9.

Synthesis of results of 16 studies that examined either (1) the influence of OER on student learning outcomes or (2) the perceptions of college students and instructors of OER.


Jhangiani, R., Dastur, F., Grand, R. L., & Penner, K. (2018). As good or better than commercial textbooks: Students’ perceptions and outcomes from using open digital and open print textbooks. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2018.1.5


Nyamweya, M. (2018, December 20). A new method for estimating OER savings. SPARC. https://sparcopen.org/news/2018/estimating-oer-student-savings/


Spica, E. (2020). PERC Report: 2019 Tennessee community college student course materials survey. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Knoxville Postsecondary Education Research Center. Retrieved from perc.utk.edu/reports. CC BY 4.0 International license.


Vitez, K. (2018, March 7). Student government leaders unite in call for federal open textbook grant program. Student PIRGs. https://studentpirgs.org/news/sp/student-government-leaders-unite-call-federal-open-textbook-grant-program


Vojtech, G., & Grissett, J. (2017). Student perceptions of college faculty who use OER. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(4), 155–171.

Essentially, students rated college faculty who use open materials to be kinder, more encouraging, and more creative than faculty using a traditional copyrighted textbook.


Wiley, D., Williams, L., DeMarte, D., & Hilton, J. (2016). The Tidewater Z-Degree and the INTRO Model for Sustaining OER Adoption. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 24(0), 41. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.24.1828

THEC Textbook Affordability Task Force
Introduction to OER Webinar
September 25, 2020