OER Overview

Open Educational Resources (OER) are materials, textbooks, and educational resources that are available freely and openly for anyone to use. Open Educational Resources include:

Learning content: full courses, course material, content modules, learning objects, collections, and journals.
Tools: software to support the creation, delivery, use, and customization of open learning content including searching and organization of content, content and learning management systems, content development tools, and online learning communities.
Implementation resources: Intellectual property licenses to promote open publishing of materials, design-principles, and localization of content.

COS has a goal of creating as many zero-cost degree pathways as possible for our students, and every course that adopts zero-cost or low-cost materials is a step toward equitable and accessible higher education for all.

Why use OER?

OER provides an equity-minded alternative to the rising costs of education and textbooks. OER increases access to education, creates a community of collaboration for educators to contribute to and benefit from, and includes incredibly high-quality materials that can be adjusted and updated year to year without asking students to shoulder the cost of each new textbook edition, which sometimes includes only minor changes. Flexibility is a key concept in OER. Materials can be adapted for your specific needs. Many educators use OER as a way to get students more involved and show students the larger context of learning and sharing knowledge beyond the four walls of a classroom.

Using Open Educational Resources can:

Relieve financial burden: The cost of textbooks has added a tremendous financial burden to students around the world. A 2020 study by Student PIRGS found that 63% of students in the United States reported not buying or renting a textbook because of cost. According to Education Data Initiative, the average students takes on $30,000 of student debt to pursue a 4-year degree. If even half of their courses used OER, imagine the benefits to graduates entering the job market.
Improve outcomes: A number of studies show that OER can help improve pedagogical outcomes, such as students' final grades, as well as their withdrawal and fail rates. For instance, a 2018 study of more than 21,000 students. in Georgia found that students in a class using OER were more likely to earn a B+ or better, and that they were 2.68% less likely to fail or withdraw from the class. These outcomes were even larger for students of color and on the Pell Grant.
Simplify use: Students frequently comment on how convenient it is to have all of their readings linked and available online.

There are so many options out there. You may be surprised to learn that some OERs are even better options than what you may already use in your course. Because OER are licensed for reuse, you can adapt and change the material to best fit the needs of your course, preventing the need for you to completely overhaul your course when you update your textbook. You can find your materials chapter by chapter to build your own customized textbook, you can find a whole OER textbook that you love from cover to cover, and you can even go text-free and use OER videos, activities, and other materials to present your content in innovative ways.

With OER, you are the author of your own course's materials.

The Zero-Textbook Cost (ZTC) Grant Project

The California Community College Chancellor's Office has been supporting community colleges in their efforts to get more pathways to zero-cost for students. At COS, faculty have been designing adoptable Canvas course frames for you to adopt.

Please note: These shells present a framework upon which to build and customize your course. Requirements for policies, number of assessments, contextualization of content, etc. will vary based on the modality of the course (online, hybrid, face-to-face). You will need to expand upon these shells and customize them to meet your needs. They are not fully plug-and-play.

If you have questions about what the requirements are for online courses, view the Minimum Navigational Requirements for Online Courses or contact the Distance Education Coordinator (eliseb@cos.edu). For other design support, contact the Instructional Designer (erinh@cos.edu).