Over the past decade there has been a lot of discussion about the rising cost of textbooks in higher education, which has resulted in an increased interest in electronic textbooks and digital coursework. When classes moved to a virtual environment in 2020, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, many campuses needed to quickly provide students with…

This study examines community college students (N = 292) enrolled in introductory criminal justice courses, comparing access, use and perceptions of open education resource (OER) textbooks with traditional textbooks. Data were collected over three semesters from students in a large metropolitan city using an online survey. The sample pool is…

Despite rapid growth in the data science workforce, people of color, women, those with disabilities, and others remain underrepresented in, underserved by, and sometimes excluded from the field. This pattern prevents equal opportunities for individuals, while also creating products and policies that perpetuate inequality. Thus, it is critical…

The Iowa Private Academic Library Open Educational Resources (IPAL OER) Project supported 62 open educational resources (OER) projects at 18 private colleges and universities in Iowa. The project impacted 1,800 students during the 2021-2022 academic year. Students saved more than $208,000 on the costs of textbooks. OER adoption led to positive…

As academic librarians engage in Open Educational Resources (OER) creation and adoption programs, exploring student perceptions of OER provides information that can be used to revise and improve OER, to inform faculty perceptions, and to contextualize the benefits of OER in relation to student financial concerns. This case study explores how…

Among many variables associated with the chaos and stress of the pandemic, a lack of direct access to learning materials like textbooks has arisen as one of the major roadblocks to student learning in the era of COVID-19. This nation has continued to observe a sharp rise in textbook prices since 1977, which leaves many students enrolled at…

We seek to guide design, development, and adoption of Renewable Assignments by testing ways learners can contribute to Open Educational Resources (OER). We design, test, and iterate four assignment structures to this end. Testing was completed in an upper-division undergraduate endocrinology course, taught emergency remote due to COVID-19. Using…

Students desire free textbooks that incorporate multimedia and interactive experiences. Although there is an increased production of e-textbooks, these resources tend to replicate hard copy books and do not take advantage of the functions that technology offers. There is also a shift to creating e-textbooks that are considered open educational…

With growing interest among higher education faculty and administration in adopting open educational resources (OER), several nationwide and statewide OER initiatives are attempting to increase the awareness and encourage the implementation of OER. In the exploration of OER resources for career and technical education (CTE) in Illinois community…