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Open Educational Resources by Willy Maxwell, UNC Bookstore Manager

07/15/2019
profile-icon Jen Mayer

image of Willy Maxwell, UNC Bookstore managerOpen educational resources (OER) learning materials are openly licensed digital educational materials that can be used instead of traditional textbooks and other courseware. The concept has been available for some time but is emerging now as a viable option to reduce the cost of learning materials while still providing rich, up-to-date content.

A recent study finds that one in nine students currently uses OER materials, and of that group, more than half use it to supplement print or digital textbooks. Instructors that consider price when selecting course materials may achieve the goal of reducing costs by assigning more OER. Professors can design courses on their own by building on available content from OER aggregators that host large collections of open resources. The process requires careful vetting to ensure the materials are high quality, peer reviewed and formatted properly.

Another option is to adopt OER content curated by a third party. For example, Lumen Learning reviews content from a variety of sources, selects the best available OER and adds timely updates, learning design and technical support to produce effective courseware for introductory courses, general education and developmental education available through an LMS. Working with Follett, students are charged only $10 to $25, which represents a significant savings compared to the cost of traditional learning materials. OER have already proven to increase student success measured by course completions and grades earned of a C or better. Students using OER enjoy an average of 83 percent savings with the same or better learning outcomes.

 

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OER as a Moral Imperative in a Time of Constraint and Censorship by Caterina Belle Azzarello, PhD Candidate, Educational Psychology
09/29/2025
profile-icon Nancy Henke
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Caterina Belle Azzarello headshot

Let me start with a simple but powerful idea: Open Educational Resources (OER) aren’t just useful or innovative—they’re a moral imperative. A moral imperative is when something feels so right or important that you have to do it, even if no one is making you. We’re living in a time of undeniable challenge in higher education. Across the country, universities and colleges are cutting budgets, laying off personnel, increasing costs for students and increasing workloads for staff and faculty. Programs and clubs that once served as lifelines for first-generation and marginalized students are disappearing.

Higher Education in Crisis

It’s not just about budgets. Academic freedom is being dismantled piece by piece. In Florida and Texas, for instance, new laws restrict teaching African American studies, gender theory, and even basic discussions of race and identity. Entire histories and scientific realities, like climate change or reproductive health, are being stripped from classrooms. Not because they’re inaccurate, but because they’re politically disruptive. Some of this happens quietly, through defunding. Some of this is loud, deliberate, and aggressive. Either way, if we don’t name it, challenge it, and offer alternatives, the effects will last long after today’s students have graduated.

Meanwhile, textbook costs remain a crushing barrier. Students skip meals, work multiple jobs, or go without required materials altogether. For some, the choice is literally between groceries and learning. A few years ago, one UNC student shared this: “I know students who failed because they couldn’t afford the textbook...it has caused me to stress greatly, and I had to choose between getting food or getting the textbook.” We’ve often heard that with great challenges come great opportunities, and that’s where OER enter the conversation, not as a trend, but as a lifeline. Sure, OER help reduce costs. But they’re so much more than that.

OER as a Lifeline, Not a Trend

OER restore agency to educators. They remove barriers for learners. They give teachers the freedom to choose resources that are pedagogically sound, factually accurate, and ethically right—not just what a publisher sells or what an administration approves of.

As someone who works in education research, I’ve seen how much trust matters: trust between students and teachers, trust in the materials we use, trust in the systems that are supposed to uphold knowledge, not suppress it.

When a teacher can’t afford to assign a textbook or is told they can’t use a resource because it clashes with a political narrative, or even when a student doesn’t see themselves reflected in their curriculum, that’s not just unfortunate. That’s unjust.

OER give us a way forward. They let educators adapt content to their classrooms and their communities. They allow us to include marginalized voices and tell the full story. And they guarantee that students—no matter their zip code, background, skin color, or bank account—can access the tools they need to succeed. That’s why universities have a moral obligation to support OER. Not as an afterthought, but as core infrastructure. 

That means investing in faculty training, incentivizing OER creation and adoption, and weaving open practices into policy. That’s why I’m proud to be a member of the AOER Committee at the University of Northern Colorado and deeply grateful for the support of the state of Colorado and the Colorado Department of Higher Education, whose grant funding makes so much of this work possible at UNC and around the state.

It also means defending academic freedom, especially now. Because when facts are politicized and evidence is treated as optional, open education becomes one of our strongest defenses. By making knowledge accessible, transparent, and verifiable, we uphold the integrity of scholarship and empower both educators and students to think critically, challenge misinformation, and protect the pursuit of truth. 

A Commitment to Truth, Equity, and Access

At the end of the day, we’re not just educators. We’re stewards of truth, equity, and possibility. OER are more than resources — they’re a moral commitment. A commitment to: openness over obscurity. Inclusion over exclusion. Facts over fear.

And in times like these, the commitment to OER and affordability is not only important, but also a moral responsibility we carry as educators and learners. Choosing openness and access is our resistance to barriers that limit opportunity, and it is our path forward toward a more just and inclusive future.

Education, Psychological Sciences, Open Initiatives & Resources
Open Educational Resources and Accessibility by Becky Smith, Interim Director of Disability Support Services
06/06/2019
profile-icon Jen Mayer
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Becky Smith Open Educational Resources (OER) expand educational opportunities and are a great tool for all students. These resources aim to remove legal, financial, and technical barriers that can prevent access. But how do they measure up for disabled students? The truth is that many OER are not designed with inclusivity in mind for disabled students. From a disability support program perspective, there is a long way to go before digital materials are accessible to everyone. In the meantime, there is some good news. OER are still a better choice than traditional resources for college students with disabilities and here are some reasons why:

  • Permissions granted by an open license remove legal barriers to adapting and customizing OER, making it possible to create learning environments that are more flexible and robust for all students.
  • OER offer the opportunity for instructors to curate materials authored by a diverse set of individuals, including those who identify as disabled, normalizing and reducing stigma while sharing viewpoints that have historically been marginalized.
  • Unlike commercially published materials, OER that are adapted to meet accessibility requirements can be retained and freely shared with communities, reducing duplicative work at and across institutions.
  • OER adoption can reduce costs, which benefits all students, but can be especially beneficial for students with disabilities who may face additional financial pressures.
  • It is more common for OER to be shared in formats that can be adapted for accessibility, unlike proprietary publisher content where editable files are notably difficult to obtain.

There has also been a significant push by university disability service offices and educators to encourage campuses to adopt universal design principles when developing courses and materials. Universal design is a concept for designing and delivering products or services that are useable by people with the widest range of capabilities. There are seven principles of universal design. One organization that aims to incorporate universal design principles and expand inclusive and equitable practices, specifically for OER, is the Flexible Learning for Open Education or FLOE Project which offers an Inclusive Learning Design Handbook. The handbook is, itself, an OER designed to help others create resources that are accessible to a diverse range of individual needs and learning preferences. Resources like the FLOE Project and others are great tools for creating inclusive learning resources without having to reinvent the wheel. The key is to be aware of the diverse needs of learners. Whether it is your plan to adopt or design OER please keep in mind inclusivity for all. While all OER are not created equally, there are still benefits for all students over traditional resources.

 

Thomas, C. (2018, October 8). OER and Accessibility: Working Toward Inclusive Learning. Retrieved from https://sparcopen.org/news/2018/oer-accessibility-working-toward-inclusive-learning/


 

Education
Open educational resources: A student perspective by Malaika Michel-Fuller, UNC student trustee
03/07/2019
profile-icon Jen Mayer
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Malaika Michel-FullerWhen I first began learning about open education and open educational resources, I was immediately intrigued by the prospect of providing affordable and high-quality services that support authors, curriculum designers, and educators while also considering financial obligations of students. I am a strong advocate for increasing the affordability of education for students, and I speak personal experience; my undergraduate course materials range across disciplines such as Economics, English, and Anthropology, and access to the wealth of texts and resources my professors prescribe reflects a heavy price tag. Serving on UNC’s OER committee has allowed me to further engage in dialogue and critical inquiry about the topic alongside higher education professionals, and through this process I have developed a greater understanding of the vital role students play the implementation and sustenance of OER on an institutional campus.

Promoting open resources is a natural fit for student advocacy, given concerns about the rising cost of higher education. Students are interested in saving money and excited by the opportunity for student work, ranging from class projects to undergraduate manuscripts being made publicly available, reusable and revisable by others. UNC houses a multitude of engaged student governance groups and leadership organizations that can serve as a valuable asset at the table when in conversations with administrators, state legislators, and other prominent stakeholders. As a 3-term member of UNC’s Student Senate, I draw parallels between the legislative advocacy my organization engages in and endeavors by campus professionals to institute OER on campus and cultivate an open education culture. As our institution continues to shift and grow, I look forward to collaboration between students and the educators, administrators, and campus members who deliver us the quality education and services that define our student experience at UNC.

Education