The document discusses the high cost of textbooks for college students and proposes open educational resources (OER) as a solution. It provides examples of courses at BENU University that have replaced expensive textbooks with free OER alternatives. Research shows that using OER reduces costs for students without impacting academic performance and may improve retention rates. The document encourages instructors to experiment with OER and provides resources for finding open textbooks and other educational materials to use in courses.

1. CTLE & UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
Presented By:
Joy Matteson (she/her)
University Librarian
Nov 16, 2022
INTRODUCTION TO
OPEN
EDUCATIONAL
RESOURCES

2. PRESENTATION OUTLINE
THE PROBLEM:
$$
A SOLUTION:
OER
BENU
EXAMPLES
RESEARCH &
ACTION STEPS

3. WE ASKED BENU
STUDENTS:
IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO SPEND MONEY
ON TEXTBOOKS, WHAT WOULD YOU
SPEND YOUR MONEY ON?

4. SOME
RESPONSES:
• Gas Money (2 responses)
• Tuition
• Food (3 responses)
• Clothing (2 responses)
• School Supplies
• Coffee
• Boba tea
• Jewelry
• Car Payment

5. THE PROBLEM: MONEY
• U.S. PIRG researchers found that in the year 2016, “nearly 5.2 million U.S.
undergraduate students spend a total of $1.5 billion dollars of financial aid on
textbooks every semester, or $3 billion per year."
• In 2021, a survey found 38% of high school students and 1 in 4 parents believe the
total cost of attendance for one year of college equals $5,000 or less.
• The average postsecondary student spends between $628 and $1,471 annually for
books and supplies as of the 2021-2022 academic year.
• According to a study conducted by the Education Data Initiative, in 2021, 25% of
students reported they worked extra hours to pay for their books and materials; 11%
skipped meals in order to afford books and course materials.
Sources
• https://pirg.org/media-center/student-group-releases-new-report-on-textbook-prices/
• https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/paying-for-college-infographic
• Hanson, Melanie. “Average Cost of College Textbooks” EducationData.org, July 15, 2022,
https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college-textbooks
When College Textbooks are Overly Expensive (Youtube Short)

6. Hanson, Melanie. “Average Cost of College Textbooks” EducationData.org, July 15, 2022,
https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college-textbooks
TEXTBOOK PRICES HAVE ALWAYS
BEEN A PROBLEM, RIGHT?

7. A SOLUTION:
OER

8. OER = OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
"The term 'open educational resource' means a teaching, learning, or research
resource that is offered freely to users in at least one form and that either resides in
the public domain or has been released under an open copyright license that allows
for its free use, reuse, modification, and sharing with attribution."
--The SPARC Playbook
https://sparcopen.org/our-work/oer-state-policy-playbook/
DEFINING OER
Ever used a Youtube video in class? You've used an
OER

9. OER IS...
• a valid textbook alternative
• able to be remixed, reused, and
shared with millions of users
• a cost affordable solution for
students
• a way to enhance equity,
diversity, and inclusion efforts in
your classroom
• just textbooks! (multiple formats)
• going to replace all commercial
textbooks
• eliminating copyright
• poorer quality content
OER IS NOT...

10. OER &
COPYRIGHT

11. Creative Commons licenses gives everyone
from individual creators to large institutions
a standardized way to grant the public
permission to use their creative work under
copyright law.
OER & COPYRIGHT
CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSING

12. THE 5 "R"S OF OER/CC
1. RETAIN - The right to make, own, and control copies of the
content (e.g., download, duplicate, store, and manage)
2. REUSE - The right to use the content in a wide range of ways
(e.g., in a class, in a study group, on a website, in a video)
3. REVISE - The right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the
content itself (e.g., change country of origin from Canada to US)
4. REMIX - The right to combine the original or revised content
with other material to create something new (e.g., combine
resources like a video and an essay to create an assignment)
5. REDISTRIBUTE - The right to share copies of the original
content, your revisions, or your remixes with others (e.g., share
copied content with a student)
Source: https://www.opencontent.org/definition/

13. OER "CONS"
• Can be difficult to find (not all in
one search engine)
• Uneven quality of content (not
poor!)
• Lack of awareness and support
• Not enough time or incentives for
instructors to create OER
• Cost saving!
• Student drop off rates decrease
• Student retention
• Equity, diversity, and inclusion
• Faculty collaboration and
customization possibilities
• Students around the world will
benefit
OER PROS

14. SO WHAT CAN
YOU DO?

15. OER ALTERNATIVE
FALL 2022
PSYCH 1100 TEXTBOOK
• $173.69 to
buy new on
Amazon
• $40 to rent
• $0
• Peer reviewed
• Access here:
https://openst
ax.org/details/
books/psychol
ogy-2e
BENU COURSE ANALYSIS

16. Review of
Pysch 2e in
2021

17. OER ALTERNATIVES
FALL 2022
BIOL 3203 TEXTBOOK
• $92.11 to buy
new on Amazon
• No option to
rent
• Access here:
https://openstax
.org/details/boo
ks/anatomy-
and-physiology
Anatomy Zone
Video Tutorials
BENU COURSE ANALYSIS

18. SOME REVIEWS
OF ANATOMY &
PHYSIOLOGY
Source: https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/anatomy-and-physiology#Reviews

19. OER RESEARCH IS OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE
SOME KEY STUDY FINDINGS:
Clinton (2018): "The number of students who withdrew from the course
was substantially higher in the semester with a commercial textbook
compared to the semester with an open-source textbook."
Source: Clinton. (2018). Savings without sacrifice: a case report on open-source textbook adoption. Open
Learning, 33(3), 177–189. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680513.2018.1486184
Find out more here at the Review Project: https://openedgroup.org/review
WHAT DOES THE
RESEARCH SAY?

20. • Fialkowski et al. study (2020): "The cost savings with open
textbook adoption were estimated at $127.50/student. There
were no reliable differences in course grades. Students reported
that both books were helpful in terms of structure and
information provided."
• Hilton (2016): "If the average college student spends
approximately $1,000 per year on textbooks and yet performs
scholastically no better than the student who utilizes free
OER, what exactly is being purchased with that $1,000?”
(emphasis added)
OER RESEARCH, CONT.
Sources
• Fialkowski, Calabrese, A., Tilinghast, B., Titchenal, C. A., Meinke, W., Banna, J. C., & Draper, J. (2019). Open
Educational Resource Textbook Impact on Students in an Introductory Nutrition Course. Journal of Nutrition
Education and Behavior, 52(4), 359–368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2019.08.006
• Hilton, J. Open educational resources and college textbook choices: a review of research on efficacy and
perceptions. Education Tech Research Dev 64, 573–590 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-016-9434-9

21. CONCLUSION:
IT'S UP TO YOU
• Try an experiment!
• Research one alternate OER in
2023-2024, OR:
• Review an OER textbook
• Check drop rates the first two weeks
of class. See a difference?
• Ask your Library for help!
www.ben.edu/library

22. WHERE DO I FIND OER?
1. Open Textbook Library: “Textbooks in the Open Textbook
Library are considered open because they are free to use and
distribute, and are licensed to be freely adapted or changed
with proper attribution.”
2. MERLOT: “The MERLOT” system provides access to
curated online learning and support materials and content
creation tools, led by an international community of educators,
learners, and researchers.”
3. OER Commons: “OER Commons is a public digital library of
open educational resources. Explore, create, and collaborate
with educators around the world to improve curriculum.”
• OpenIllinois is another way to access OER Commons, and
one can find OER specific to Illinois through CARLI (The
Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries of Illinois),
of which Benedictine University Library is a member.
OpenIllinois also endorses OER as means of review.
4. MIT OpenCourseware: “Free lecture notes, exams, and
videos from MIT. No registration required.”
5. LibreTexts: “The LibreTexts mission is to unite students,
faculty and scholars in a cooperative effort to develop an
easy-to-use online platform for the construction,
customization, and dissemination of open educational
resources (OER) to reduce the burdens of unreasonable
textbook costs to our students and society.”

23. "When we
share,
everyone
wins."
~creativecommons.org

24. THANK YOU
FOR LISTENING!
Q&A
Further questions or comments? Contact me at jmatteson@ben.edu