Background

We are approaching the 25th anniversary of UNESCO¹ coining the term Open Educational Resources (OER) to be inclusive of teaching materials in any format that resides in the public domain or are open-licensed in a way that allows the items to be retained, reused, revised, remixed, and redistributed. Yet, despite this important milestone, faculty awareness of OER has started to decline.² Textbook prices have increased exponentially, over 162% between 2000-2021, outpacing nearly every other industry and have become a more substantial barrier to higher education.³ Over 81% of medical doctors, 75% of health professions doctorates, 69% of graduate nurses, and 76% of undergraduate nurses are burdened with student loans, and the amount of those loans doubled between 2000-2016.^4-5 Although textbook and ancillary materials may only make up a small part of the cost of higher education, they are a key component of student success and there is a growing body of evidence demonstrating OER’s efficacy as an affordable and equitable alternative to traditional, high-cost textbooks.