Ladders in the orchard: What’s next for OER?

A movement to encourage and increase the creation and use of open educational resources (OER) in U.S. higher education has been growing for about 20 years. In Massachusetts, for example, 71 percent of public colleges are already using OER to some extent, although the total number of courses affected remains relatively small. The most common number of OER courses per school is between 11 and 20. Studies continue to show that the high cost of textbooks is a burden for students, to the point that many states have adopted legislation to reduce textbook costs or promote OER. However, in a study that surveyed faculty from the Virginia Community College System, Dr Braddlee and Amy VanScoy concluded that use of OER is still a “niche phenomenon, the province of innovators and early adopters.” Any change, no matter how potentially beneficial, takes both time and effort.