Effects of an Open Educational Resources Initiative on Students, Faculty and Instructional Designers
A research and development project was undertaken to document, analyze and report the effects of implementing a free/open educational resources (OER) initiative within Sullivan University’s College of Business Administration. The project involved the redesign of courses using no-cost textbooks and other educational resources, in place of resources costing students hundreds of dollars per course. Quantitative data were gathered from 311 students enrolled in sections of two widely-used undergraduate courses over four quarters. Qualitative data were gathered from interviews of faculty and instructional designers involved with the project. Results indicated that students in the OER courses were more satisfied with the cost and quality of the courses and the instructional materials and were more likely to recommend the course to others, compared to students in Pre-OER courses. The use of OER based on student learning outcomes was judged by faculty subject matter experts and instructional designers to have a positive effect on the quality of course design and the relationship between subject matter expert and instructional designer, compared to courses based on textbooks.
