Cost and Quality: Student Reflections on OER and Academic Engagement

This article shares the analysis of surveys conducted across the first year (2022-2023) of participating courses in OER Leads, an OER adoption faculty incentive program at Pennsylvania State University, to assess the perception and value of the newly adopted OER among the impacted students. Areas of focus include the impact of those costs on students’ educational experiences and decisions, as well as students’ perceptions of their course’s open course materials in terms of their quality and utility for learning activities. We also share our interpretations of these survey results and our reflections on possible takeaways for OER practitioners and supporters, especially in terms of the impact of course material costs on student learning and engagement. Additionally, our survey results add to the continually growing evidence that adoption of open, library-licensed, and/or affordable course materials has a positive impact on student engagement and well-being.