Appendix B: OER Benefits

For instructors, open educational resources (OER) have the following benefits:

• Assurance that every student has immediate and unlimited access to course content
• Choice of technology partners rather than being locked into a particular platform or system
• Ability to use, edit, and adapt existing materials without needing to acquire copyright permission
• Availability in a variety of formats (e.g., HTML, PDF, ePUB) or ability to produce the resource in alternate formats
• Ownership of the content forever
• Flexibility in when and whether to move to a new edition

For students, OER offer cost savings as well as the following benefits:

• Access to course content in appropriate formats for various devices and situations, including the option to download the text for when internet access is not available
• Ability to share the content on social networks and public forums, including blended learning environments
• Instant, unlimited, and permanent access to content,
  • eliminating the need to buy content multiple times or for a longer period of time in order to use the content for multiple semesters;
  • enabling use of the content as a reference for more advanced courses (e.g., using an introductory statistics book as a reference for a research methods course);
  • easing study for higher education entrance and certification exams (e.g., GRE, GMAT, MCAT, CPA); and
  • providing access to content for lifelong learning and career changes.
• Ability to print all of the course material when convenient

For institutions, OER offer the following benefits:

• Broader student access to course materials, which may result in increased retention and degree progression (Fischer et al. 2015) and/or lower failing and withdrawal rates (Colvard, Watson, and Park 2018)
• Increased impact and visibility for instructors creating and sharing OER, potentially impacting course development at other institutions
• Enhanced pedagogy, because instructors can adapt course materials to their learning objectives instead of making their course content “fit” an established textbook
• Positive public relations and an opportunity to showcase efforts to reduce student costs