Open Educational Resources (OER) in Texas Higher Education, 2019
Author: Jimes, C.
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Open Educational Resources,Higher Education,Community Colleges,Public Colleges,Private Colleges,Barriers,Affordances,Academic Libraries

This report presents the results of an independent survey commissioned by the Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas (DigiTex, formerly the Virtual College of Texas), in collaboration with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), to examine the landscape of Open Educational Resources (OER) programs, policies, and practices at higher education institutions in Texas. The survey was administered in May 2019 to all 158 two- and four-year public and private institutions across the state. Responses from 100 institutions paint a picture of growing commitment to OER, with 38% of institutions having formal programs and initiatives in place to support OER, and with 51% either in the process of or interested in implementing OER programs or policies in the future. The survey findings further reveal insights into specific priorities, practices, and perceptions surrounding OER across the Texas higher education landscape, including: (1) Affordability and access are key drivers of OER, though teaching and learning benefits also play a role; (2) The development of faculty OER training and incentive programs are key priorities for institutions; (3) OER-based courses are prevalent across Texas and likely to scale, and the development of full, OER-based programs are also underway, primarily at the state's two-year institutions; (4) OER initiatives are funded primarily through internal budgets; (5) Institutions are centralizing their OER work through dedicated roles, offices, and committees; (6) OER success is a collaborative effort, with libraries, students, and cross-institutional partnerships playing important roles; (7) OER discourse is limited and non-standardized within and across institutions, and the majority of institutions do not have a written definition of OER; (8) Data collection on the pedagogical and financial impacts of OER is nascent, yet promising; and (9) Institutions view lack of faculty awareness and conflicts with existing priorities as principal barriers to OER adoption. The report concludes that those leading the way in OER across the state are appointing dedicated committees to shepherd the OER work at their institutions, allocating resources to OER training for faculty and for the development of OER, and collecting data on the extent and impact of OER use. A small number of bellwether institutions also are sharing their OER externally with other institutions in national OER repositories, articulating concrete open licensing policies in their intellectual property guidelines, and collecting innovative data on OER use and impact--such as data on instructors' level of engagement in OER compared to traditional course materials. Enabling further expansion of these efforts necessitates institution, system, and state level support as colleges and universities work to more effectively utilize their resources to increase instructor and student use of OER. [This report is based on an independent survey commissioned in 2019 by the Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas (DigiTex), in collaboration with the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME).]