If the average college student spends approximately $1000 per year on textbooks and yet performs scholastically no better than the student who utilizes free OER, what exactly is being purchased with that $1000?

-John Hilton III, Brigham Young University, Open Education Group

Over the next few pages, we will look at research, reports, and surveys that explore the impact of OER.

Effectiveness & Perceptions

Please watch the video below, which summarizes a 2016 meta-analysis conducted by John Hilton III. Hilton's work synthesizes the results of 16 OER studies that examined the influence of OER on student outcomes, or student and faculty perceptions of OER. Key findings include:

Students generally achieve the same learning outcomes when OER are utilized and simultaneously save significant amounts of money
Both students and faculty are generally positive regarding OER

Hilton III (2019) recently published a follow-up meta-analysis to include OER research conducted through 2018. This more comprehensive study came to the same conclusions:

Open educational resources, student efficacy, and user perceptions: a synthesis of research published between 2015 and 2018

Attributions:

Page adopted from "Does OER Work?" "Zero Textbook Cost Pathways: OER & Equity" by Aloha Sargent is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Textbox: Hilton III, J. (2016). Open educational resources and college textbook choices: A review of research on efficacy and perceptions, Educational Technology Research and Development, 64(4), 2016, 573-590. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-016-9434-9 (CC BY 4.0)

Video: "A Review of the Effectiveness & Perceptions of Open Educational Resources As Compared to Textbooks" by Research Shorts is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Hilton III, J. (2019). Open educational resources, student efficacy, and user perceptions: a synthesis of research published between 2015 and 2018, Educational Technology Research and Development, 06 August 2019, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-019-09700-4 (CC BY 4.0)