Ten Million in Savings from OER Implementations

2018, Vol. 2

Since Spring 2013, implementation of eCore Open Education Resources (OERs), resulted in an estimated cost saving of 10M dollars. OERs improve access to course materials and reduce barriers for students; no book purchase and just-in-time availability (University System of Georgia eCore Factbook, 2017).

OERs influence learning by increasing opportunity and can dramatically impact lives of millions of people around the world, through high quality, locally relevant educational materials (Bliss, Robinson, Hilton, & Wiley, 2013; Cape Town Open Education Declaration, 2007). Bliss et al. (2013) provided the following quotes from college faculty; "I am able to refer to material knowing that all students will have access to the same material." and "The materials were free to my students, which reduced a barrier to their chances for academic success."

Hilton (2016) reviewed 16 OER studies that involved over 46,000 students and concluded that OERs do not appear to negatively influence student learning. As a result, he questioned the rationale for traditional textbook costs.

Open Education Resources (OERs) are an important feature of eCore courses that help reduce students’ out of pocket cost per course. OER textbooks are carefully selected by a team of content experts from various resources such as OpenStax, Saylor Academy, and University Press of North Georgia textbooks. In some courses, several OERs are used to satisfy course learning objectives. eCore also supplements OERs with course content developed by University System of Georgia faculty subject matter experts. Scholarly articles and external websites serve as valuable OERs as well. OERs are reviewed and revised periodically to ensure quality (University System of Georgia eCore Factbook, 2017).

Karen Lingrell, Associate Director for Collaborative Programs
 klingrel@westga.edu, 678-839-5278  

Dr. Randy Blackmon, Director of Enrollment and Strategic Projects
rblackmo@westga.edu 678-839-4898

References:
Bliss, T. J., Robinson, T., Hilton, J., & Wiley, D. (2013). An OER COUP: College teacher and student perceptions of open educational resources. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2013(1).

Declaration, C. T. O. E. (2007). Cape Town Open Education Declaration: Unlocking the promise of open educational resources. Retrieved from: http://www.capetowndeclaration.org/read-the-declaration

Hilton, J. (2016). Open educational resources and college textbook choices: a review of research on efficacy and perceptions. Educational Technology Research and Development, 64(4), 573-590.

University System of Georgia eCore. (2017). Factbook-2017. Retrieved from: https://ecore.usg.edu/about/factbook/factbook-2017/

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