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Why should you choose OER?


From Thoughts on Open slide presentation by David Wiley CC BY 4.0

Textbook prices have increased at a much higher rate to that of inflation in the past 20 years. The majority of students have decided against buying a textbook for a class due to expense. For more information check out these articles and reports:

PIRG Reports:

Open Textbooks: The Billion Dollar Solution (2nd Ed.)

Fixing the Broken Textbook Market

Inside Higher Ed:

Open, but Undiscovered

SPARC:

Support the Affordable College Textbook Act

 

 

The current state of OERs

As of March 2015 the field of open education resources still has a "wild west" quality. There are many educators who have embraced the movement wholeheartedly and others who are skeptical. Repositories for resources have come and gone but the sheer quantity and varied quality can be overwhelming. There is no one place to post or share resources, and many repositories overlap.

However, there has been progress. Repositories that encourage participation and rating systems have ignited the 'peer review' process. Open textbooks have taken hold and provide alternate options to expensive text books and more flexibility.


If you are passionate about building a sustainable course for your students delve in and explore the possibilities of OER!

How can faculty save students money?

Consider developing a course using OER materials.

If using a small portion of a text, work with our Campus Library Reserves Team to put a chapter online for students to access.

The University Book Store also offers the following tips for faculty:

  • Adopt previously used books for future quarters as often as possible.
  • Before adopting a new edition of a textbook, make sure the changes from the previous edition are significant enough to make a difference in the course.
  • Evaluate textbook “bundles” carefully to ensure that bundled materials will be used in the course.
  • Submit course book adoptions by the due dates.