Open Educational Resources for Faculty

Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and repurposing by others. OER include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge (via William and Flora Hewlett Foundation). 

The cost of course materials is a known barrier for students to select courses, complete readings, and succeed in courses. At Oakton in 2023, a survey found that 30% of students skipped purchasing the required course materials for a class due to the costs. Open educational resources (OER) are materials with open licenses that students can use free of cost. Students reported stress from expensive course materials and also reported positive engagement with courses when free materials were used.