Research Guides: Open Educational Resources: OER Data

National OER Data

Colvard, Nicholas B., Watson, C. Edward, Park, Hyojin. "The Impact of Open Educational Resources on Various Student Success Metrics". International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, vol. 30, no. 2, 2018, pp.262-276.

"There are multiple indicators which suggest that completion, quality, and affordability are the three greatest challenges for higher education today in terms of students, student learning, and student success. Many colleges, universities, and state systems are seeking to adopt a portfolio of solutions that address these challenges. This article reports the results of a large-scale study (21,822 students) regarding the impact of course-level faculty adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER). Results indicate that OER adoption does much more than simply save students money and address student debt concerns. OER improve end-of-course grades and decrease DFW (D, F, and Withdrawal letter grades) rates for all students. They also improve course grades at greater rates and decrease DFW rates at greater rates for Pell recipient students, part-time students, and populations historically underserved by higher education. OER address affordability, completion, attainment gap concerns, and learning. These findings contribute to a broadening perception of the value of OERs and their relevance to the great challenges facing higher education today."

GTC OER Data

Greenville Technical College OER Reporting Form

GTC instructors should complete a reporting form for each course that uses open educational resources. Reporting assists with data collection and assessment of OER impact at GTC including student cost savings and academic success. Information provided will also support a project proposal to include OER course information in GTC's One Campus student registration and Bookstore systems.

The GTC OER reporting form is used to collect data regarding:

Student Cost Savings - non-OER course material cost times course enrollment prior to OER implementation
Student Success Rates – including W and WF information for academic year before and after OER implementation

Instructors are also encouraged to collect and report additional data to Tara.Weekes@gvltec.edu, including:

Average Grades – paper / project / exam / overall / certification / licensure scores before and after OER implementation
Instructor Observations – instructor qualitative data of learning progress and outcomes
Student Evaluations
1. On a scale of 1 - 10 please rate the course materials content usefulness in achieving our course objectives?
2. On a scale of 1 - 10 please rate the course materials ease of access, organization, and readability to enhance your understanding?
3. Please provide any additional positive or negative comments regarding your course materials?

Student Cost Savings Per Semester

Course	Non-OER Cost	Prior Enrollment	Savings
PHS 111	$300	83	$24,900
ECD 252*	$250	11	$2,750
Total: $27,650

Student Success

Course	Non-OER	OER	Change
PHS 111	59%	79.5%	20.5% Increase
ECD 252*	54.5%	66.7%	12.2% Increase

Withdraws & Withdraw Fails

Course	Non-OER	OER	Change
PHS 111	19.3% W 0% WF	8.4% W 3.6% WF	10.9% Decrease 3.6% Increase
ECD 252*	18.2% W 9.1% WF	6.7% W 0% WF	1.5% Decrease 9.1% Decrease

Enrollment

Course	Non-OER	OER	Change
PHS 111	83	83	n/a
ECD 252*	11	6	Decrease by 5

*Fall vs Summer

Instructor Observations

Course	Quote	Instructor
PHS 111	“Students seem to understand the topics much better this term illustrated by their better grades and more engaging discussions in discussion boards. I am confident that this redesign with OER materials will benefit our students both academically and financially.”	Amy Daniels
ECD 252	"Grades for the main project for the course were higher in 2023 when the OER materials were in use. The redesign of the course eliminated the use of MindTap quizzes and video case studies to teach and instead focused on work relevant to class projects. Students were able to capture the learning outcomes through their authentic work which led to a better understanding of the end project.”	Dr. Jacque Taylor

Student Evaluations

ECD 252

Content Usefulness in Achieving Course Objectives: 9.00 out of 10

Ease of Access, Organization, and Readability: 9.30 out of 10

"I think it provided a lot of good information that was easy to understand.”

"I enjoyed the textbook for this course. I think it was well written. It has very good information and I will refer to it.”

REL 101 (OER Pilot)

Quality of Content: 8.50 out of 10
"There is no drop off in the quality of the content with OER.”

Readability: 9.00 out of 10
"I found the OER so much easier to read and follow along with.”

Organization: 8.83 out of 10
"The book was well organized and the flow of content was great.”

Usefulness: 8.67 out of 10
“I believe that the OER could stand alone as the course material for this class.”

Overall:
"I preferred the OER so much more than the original text. It was easier to read and follow the concepts, which helped me to retain the content much better.