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Open Educational Resources (OER)

Also referred to as Open Access Resources. This guide is intended as an central access point for liaisons to verify and update open access resources and to provide ready resources to map to subject or class guides.

What are Open Textbooks?

Open textbooks are textbooks that have been funded, published, and licensed to be freely used, adapted, and distributed. - Open Textbook Library

Like traditional textbooks, open textbooks are written by experts in the field and undergo a process of peer review and professional editing and development. Unlike the traditional publishing model, publishers and authors of open textbooks are paid for their labor upfront by the funding organization or grant, instead of relying on sales to pay back their investments.

Open textbook publishing model by David Ernst is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Why Open Textbooks?

In a 2016 study of Trends in Higher Education, The College Board found that undergraduate students often pay upwards of $1,200 a year for textbooks and supplies. The cost of textbooks influences student success and retention.

Students who participated in the 2012 Florida Student Textbook Survey responded at least once over the course of their academic careers, the cost of required textbooks caused them to:

  • 63.6%  Not purchase the required textbook
  • 49.2%  Take fewer courses
  • 45.1%  Not register for a specific course    
  • 33.9%  Earn a poor grade because I could not afford to buy the textbook    
  • 26.7%  Drop a course  
  • 17.0%  Fail a course because I could not afford to buy the textbook

Open textbooks...

  • Allow for flexible content. Students can access the content in their preferred format, on their preferred platform. Professors can customize the material to match their course needs. Digital editions allow instructors to embed video, audio, and other interactive content directly into the textbook.
  • Help students succeed. In 2015, a multi-institutional study published in the Journal of Computing in Higher Education showed that students using open textbooks in their courses performed as well or better than students do using traditional textbooks and that they enrolled in more courses the following semester. Students using online open textbooks also gain ICT (information communication technology) skills.
  • Save students money. Open textbooks offer both digital editions and printed copies. Students can download free digital editions or order print copies at a low price.

Adapted from: UMW libraries OER Guide

Costs of Higher Education Data