Open Educational Resources for Faculty: Why Use OER?

Why Open Education Matters by Blink Tower is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

The major principles that underpin the implementation of OER at Saint Paul College are those of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

OER has important connections to DEI goals: 

• Studies have shown that offering zero-cost textbooks and course materials levels the playing field for historically-underrepresented students who are struggling to balance paying for tuition and day-to-day costs of living.
• The availability of OER offers academic instructors the freedom to explore materials written by a wide range of authors and incorporate a diverse body of work into their courses.
• Representation matters. The inclusion of texts by BIPOC, women, and other underrepresented or marginalized communities can foster an inclusive environment and culture. 

Research: OER & DEI

• Framing Open Educational Practices from a Social Justice Perspective

  Published in 2020, this article discusses how Open Educational Resources and other types of Open Pedagogy can contribute to or degrade social justice in the college classroom.

• The Impact of Open Educational Resources on Various Student Success Metrics

  From 2013 to 2016, the University of Georgia began the process of implementing OER into several of their high-enrollment, lower-division undergraduate classes. Using Pell grant eligibility as a socioeconomic marker, UGA measured the outcomes of students' performance in courses that used OER textbooks versus traditional course materials.

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Open Research & Education

  Read Tara Robertson's summary of her 2017 OpenCon presentation about DEI and Open Education initiatives.

• OER Equity Blueprint Research Foundation

  An overview of research into why and how OER programs have worked to improve access and affordability, deepen student learning, and close equity gaps for historically underrepresented and minoritized students used for the DOERS3 OER Equity Blueprint.

Content in this section from the University of Memphis, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.