This paper aimed to develop and validate the Zero Textbook Satisfaction Scale (ZSS), a measurement tool to assess student satisfaction with Zero Textbook Costs (ZTC) resources. The validated ZSS is available via a CC BY-NC-ND license and is a valuable tool for faculty and institutions seeking to understand student perceptions of their OER/ ZTC…

One of the challenges experienced in South African higher education (HE) is a lack of access to affordable, appropriate textbooks and other teaching materials that can be legally shared on online forums and the Internet. There are also increasing calls to address transformation and social justice globally and in South African HE through curriculum…

To provide more affordable course content to our students and faculty, local data on how students perceive textbook expenses and how the costs impact student success would be necessary in order to advocate to faculty and other stakeholders. This survey, conducted at a mid-sized research public institution, aims to explore student perceptions of…

This case study discusses the integration of information literacy instruction and assessment in a required research course for students of journalism and strategic communication at the University of Kansas. The integration consisted of four components: (1) a unifying threshold concept, (2) an open textbook, (3) a sequence of five assignments, and…

The results of the first cross-campus survey of student opinions on Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) courses are in: City University of New York (CUNY) students like their ZTC courses, primarily for the cost savings and ease of access. The survey results yield rich data about how positively students feel about their Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) courses as…

In this work, we studied the use of open education resources (OER) in the form of online modules combined with an open textbook as it relates to student performance and perceptions in a Linear Algebra course. In this approach, we compared student performance and perceptions from three sections of this intermediate level mathematics course. One was…

This study focused on student-content interactions and engagement in an online graduate course. Student descriptions of their experiences and learning processes in relation to digital course resources were examined to understand how and why resources were used. Fourteen students provided detailed explanations of their use and perceived value of…

Research methods course(s), a standard in psychology programs, often use multiple textbooks to address conceptual and data-analytic information. This study involved transitioning from traditional textbooks to open educational resources in a research methods course. Two psychology instructors, each offering course sections, identified open-access…

The term "Open Educational Resources" (OER) at UNESCO's 2002 Forum on the Impact of Open Courseware for Higher Education in Developing Countries was coined to describe a new global phenomenon of openly sharing educational resources in 2002. In this context, OER was defined as ''the open provision of educational resources, enabled by…

In this qualitative study, the authors extend the previous research and present findings from a study investigating post-secondary theoretically-based study strategy courses. In Texas, these courses are known as learning frameworks courses, offered for college credit, and derive full-formula funding from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating…

A survey of 2,574 students and 1,157 faculty members across ten institutions of postsecondary education in the state of Utah was conducted by the "Utah Academic Libraries Consortium." Survey items were created to understand the influence of textbook costs on student academic behavior and the viability of faculty adopting open educational…

As college costs have continued to rise, textbooks now average more than $1,200 per student per academic year as of 2020. Traditional textbooks are not only expensive, but also have fixed and frequently outdated content. In this study, we compared pre-service teacher-student outcomes and perceptions of a traditional textbook versus no-cost, online…

In this mixed-methods study of large enrollment introductory physics service courses, I investigated students' perception and use of online education resources as supplements to course-provided materials and activities. Specifically, I focused on the increasing use of popular free online media resources such as YouTube and Khan Academy, and…

Systemic functional linguistics (SFL) theory focuses on developing language learners' meta-linguistic understanding of the interrelation among linguistic form (grammar/vocabulary), meaning, and context. Guided by SFL when using a mandatory textbook and open educational resources, this study investigates how exposure to this blended teaching and…

Recognizing that higher education settings vary considerably, librarians at Gettysburg College sought to better understand textbook spending behaviors and the effects of costs on our students. We adapted the Florida Virtual Campus 2016 Student Textbook and Course Materials Survey to suit the context of our small, private, liberal arts college.…