Policy 3: Aiding College Affordability with OERs

Austin Gibbons
Sep 7, 2018 · 2 min read

Problem:

According to Forbes, 44 million people in the United States owe a collective $1.5 trillion in student loan debt thanks to their pursuit of American higher education. One component of this college affordability crisis is the costs students incur when purchasing textbooks. Open educational resources (OERs) offer students with access to free educational resources under an open copyright license and it is one solution which people propose for rising textbook prices.

Stakeholders:

As academic resources, OERs have their largest impact on student learning. However, other parties that are affected include educators, administration, and textbook authors and publishers. Educators and administrators are affected because they must make the time and effort to create or locate cheaper textbook options for their students. All of this can potentially impact the bottom line for textbook authors and publishers.

In some cases, students must educate themselves on the positive benefits of OERs in order to persuade their professors and educators to adopt textbooks that are in the public domain. At the University of Georgia, leaders within the Student Government Association spent time lobbying administrators and using students as grassroots activists for college affordability.

Feasibility:

Thanks to a popular trend in higher education administration and steps already taken by the University of Georgia, implementing a policy regarding OERs is feasible. UGA assists professors of large enrollment courses in making the change toward cheaper or free textbooks. According to a study conducted by the Center for Teaching and Learning, UGA has saved 26,000 students approximately $3.1 million since the launch of their OER initiative in 2013. In introductory biology classes alone during the 2013–2014 school year, 2,030 students saved $200,000.

The research on the topic of OERs is also abundant. Several universities, including the University of Arizona, have implemented OER policy and many scholarly articles exist detailing the strengths and drawbacks of open educational resources.

Footnotes:

Friedman, Zack. “Student Loan Debt Statistics In 2018: A $1.5 Trillion Crisis.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 13 June 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2018/06/13/student-loan-debt-statistics-2018/#58c6d2777310.

Grinberg, Emanuella. “Free Open Textbooks Gain Footing at Some Colleges.” CNN, Cable News Network, 21 Apr. 2014, www.cnn.com/2014/04/18/living/open-textbooks-online-education-resources/index.html.

Hylén, Jan. “Open Educational Resources: Opportunities and Challenges Opportunities and Challenges.” Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, www.oecd.org/education/ceri/37351085.pdf.

“OER Use at the UA.” Open Educational Resources, University of Arizona, www.oer.arizona.edu/content/oer-use-ua.

“Open Educational Resources (OERs).” Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Georgia, www.ctl.uga.edu/oer.

“Top 10 Higher Education State Policy Issues for 2017.” Policy Matters, American Association of State Colleges and Universities , Jan. 2017, www.aascu.org/policy/publications/policy-matters/Top10Issues2017.pdf .

Austin Gibbons

Written by

Junior at the University of Georgia studying political science, public relations, and public affairs

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