Textbooks vs. OER: The Open Educational Resources Push

For decades, the ritual of buying college textbooks has been a source of financial anxiety for students and parents alike. With the price of commercial textbooks rising far faster than inflation, a breaking point has been reached. In response, universities and colleges are increasingly shifting toward Open Educational Resources (OER). These are free, peer-reviewed learning materials that are legally available for anyone to use, adapt, and share. This shift is not just about saving money; it is fundamentally changing how students access information and how professors teach.

The Economics of the Textbook Crisis

To understand why the push for OER is gaining momentum, you have to look at the numbers. The Education Data Initiative reports that the average college student spends between $628 and $1,471 annually on books and supplies. For a student attending a community college, this cost can sometimes exceed the cost of tuition itself.

Historically, the textbook market was dominated by a few major publishers: Pearson, Cengage, McGraw Hill, and Wiley. Because professors assign the books and students must buy them, the market lacked price sensitivity. This “captive market” allowed prices to skyrocket by over 1,000% since the 1970s.

The consequence is that many students simply stop buying the books. A survey by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group found that 65% of students had opted not to buy a required text because of the price, even though 94% of them knew it would hurt their grade. This academic compromise is exactly what OER aims to fix.

What Are Open Educational Resources?

OER are teaching and learning materials that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others. The most common licensing used is Creative Commons.

Unlike a traditional copyrighted textbook, OER allows an instructor to:

  • Retain: Make and own copies.
  • Reuse: Use the content in a wide range of ways.
  • Revise: Adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content (e.g., translate the text into another language).
  • Remix: Combine the original or revised content with other open content to create something new.
  • Redistribute: Share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others.

Key Players in the OER Space

The movement has moved beyond niche websites and into the mainstream. OpenStax, based at Rice University, is currently the leader in this space. They offer peer-reviewed, high-quality textbooks for high-enrollment courses like Physics, Calculus, Biology, and Sociology completely free online. If a student wants a physical print copy, they can buy one at the cost of printing (usually $25 to $60), which is significantly lower than the $200 to $300 price tag of commercial texts.

Other major platforms include:

  • LibreTexts: A multi-institutional project initiated at the University of California, Davis.
  • OER Commons: A public digital library of open educational resources.
  • MIT OpenCourseWare: One of the earliest initiatives to publish virtually all MIT course content online.

Institutional Adoption and "ZTC" Degrees

Universities are no longer just suggesting OER; they are building programs around it. The concept of the “Zero Textbook Cost” (ZTC) degree is spreading rapidly, particularly within community college systems where financial barriers are most acute.

For example, the California Community Colleges system received $115 million in state funding to develop ZTC degree pathways. Similarly, the City University of New York (CUNY) and State University of New York (SUNY) systems have invested millions to incentivize faculty to switch from commercial publishers to OER.

The impact is measurable. Since launching its OER initiative in 2017, CUNY estimates it has saved students over $95 million in textbook costs.

The Commercial Response: Inclusive Access

Traditional publishers have not ignored this threat. In response to the used book market and OER, companies like Pearson and Cengage have introduced “Inclusive Access” or “Equitable Access” programs.

Under this model, the cost of digital textbooks is billed directly to the student’s tuition and fees. Students get access on the first day of class, usually at a discounted rate compared to the new print price. While publishers argue this lowers costs, critics point out several issues:

  1. Rental Model: Students usually lose access to the material after the course ends.
  2. Opt-Out Difficulties: The processes to opt out of these automatic charges can be confusing or bureaucratic.
  3. Data Privacy: Digital platforms allow publishers to track reading habits and data in ways physical books do not.

While Inclusive Access is cheaper than the old model of buying new hardcovers, OER advocates argue that “cheaper” is not better than “free,” especially when “free” also comes with permanent ownership of the material.

Quality and Ancillary Materials

The early criticism of OER was focused on quality. Faculty members worried that “free” meant “low quality” or “unverified.” However, organizations like OpenStax enforce strict peer-review processes identical to those used by commercial publishers. Studies, such as those published in the International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, consistently show that students using OER perform as well as, or better than, those using traditional texts.

The current battleground is not the text itself, but the “ancillaries.” Commercial publishers entice professors with robust homework platforms, automated grading, high-quality slide decks, and test banks. OER has historically lagged here.

To close this gap, companies like Lumen Learning and Carnegie Mellon’s Open Learning Initiative provide low-cost courseware (often $25 to $35) that wraps around free OER content to provide the homework and grading features faculty need. This hybrid model offers the convenience of commercial software with the low cost of open content.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are OER textbooks really high quality? Yes. Major OER providers like OpenStax use the same peer-review process as traditional publishers. The content is written by experts in the field and vetted for accuracy.

Can students get a printed copy of an OER textbook? Usually, yes. While the digital version is free, most OER providers allow students to purchase a low-cost print version. This covers only the manufacturing and shipping costs, often ranging from $25 to $60.

Do OER credits transfer to other universities? The textbook used does not dictate course transferability. As long as the course learning outcomes align with the receiving institution’s requirements, the credits transfer regardless of whether the book cost $300 or $0.

What is a ZTC Degree? ZTC stands for “Zero Textbook Cost.” It refers to a degree pathway where a student can complete all required courses without spending any money on textbooks, usually by utilizing OER and library resources.

Why don’t all professors use OER? The biggest barrier is time. It takes significant effort for a professor to redesign a course, find new materials, and set up new homework systems. Without institutional support or stipends, many stick with the commercial packages they already know.