OER: Faculty Guide to Open Educational Resources

"Open Educational Resources" (OERs) are any type of educational materials that are in the public domain or introduced with an open license. The nature of these open materials means that anyone can legally and freely copy, use, adapt and re-share them. OERs range from textbooks to curricula, syllabi, lecture notes, assignments, tests, projects, audio, video and animation" (UNESCO).

Traditionally published textbooks and educational materials are subject to copyright restrictions, which do not allow them to be modified or reused in other contexts. With OER, students and instructors can re-use and re-purpose materials not just during the class, but in the future as well.

1. Reduce Student Financial Burden

• Textbooks can be prohibitively expensive for our students, especially those who rely on grants and student loans to attend.
• Fixing the Broken Textbook Market (2021) found that 65% of students surveyed in 2020 have not bought a required textbook because it is too expensive. 
• Students report working extra hours, skipping meals, and missing bill payments in order to afford course materials,

2. Improve Equity of Access, Boost Student Success

• Access to course materials is not equitable. 
• Many students skip buying course materials, rent their textbook from the campus bookstore, or compete with other students for access to a print copy on reserve at the library. 
• OER and other low / no-cost alternatives get learning materials into all students' hands from day-one, creating an equitable environment for student success

1. Adopt

• Adopt openly-licensed textbooks, in print or online.  There is a wealth of openly-licensed textbooks, authored and reviewed by scholars, and made available for use as a whole, or in parts: SEARCH for OER
• Place textbooks on reserve at the library.
• Include price as a key factor in selecting a textbook. 
• Advocate among your colleagues for affordable options.

2. Curate

• In your course site, create no-cost reading lists by adding links to library-subscribed content.
• Use openly licensed and public domain web content, linked from your course site.  Share this content with colleagues who may be teaching the same course or subject matter.
• Review, rate, and comment on content that you've used.

3. Adapt or Author 

• Create your own learning materials.
• Modify openly-licensed resources to customize for your course
• Share what you create with an open license