1. Open Educational Resources and Student Success
Susan Kazama, Kapi‘olani Library
Wayde Oshiro, Leeward Library
Sunyeen Pai, Kapi‘olani Library
Hawaii Strategy Institute, 2016

2. Rising prices
since 1977
Textbook prices have increased 3 times the rate of inflation
According to NBC's review of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, textbook prices have risen over three times the rate of inflation from January 1977 to June 2015, a 1,041 percent increase.
NBC News

3. Textbook Costs at UHCC $22,500,000 Average textbook = $111*
6 textbooks per year for
33,715 students
$22,500,000
Textbook cost and class enrollment data from UHCC System Office, using prices for highest priced textbook at each campus and NOT including courses that were zero-cost.
UHCC student enrollment for 2012 from UHCC website. NCES AY : Average expenditures for books & supplies $1,250 at US public and private schools.
Fall 2012, 33,715 UHCC students
* For 10 most highly enrolled courses

4. Top textbook costs for Top 10 UHCC courses
Highest priced textbooks on each campus for the highest enrolled courses.

5. Hewlett Foundation
Introduction to OER
OER is defined as “teaching, learning, and research resources 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.”

6. Strategic Plan, UHCC Spring 2015

7. Slide 7: Textbook costs relative to total college costs
Why focus on textbook costs? Textbook costs have often been overlooked and considered a negligible cost, especially when looking at the overall cost of a college education. In community colleges, however, textbooks are a significantly larger barrier relative to total college costs for our students. Our students have a difficult time bearing even relatively small costs.
The chart on the left illustrates estimated tuition costs at Leeward and Kapiolani. Tuition accounts for 59%, books and supplies are 14%, and personal living expenses are 27% of average annual college costs as reported to The College Board in If personal living expenses are removed, books and supplies account for 19% of direct college costs (tuition & fees=$3,657; books & supplies= 836). Books are a significant cost barrier for students.

8. Slide 8: One-half of community college students use financial aid for textbooks
Nationally, figures from the Institute for College Access & Success show that 83% of community college students have a documented need for financial aid. Fifty percent of 4,704 community college students responding to a Student PIRGS survey used financial aid to pay for textbook costs; 65% of these students reported using only financial aid to pay for textbooks. Comparable figures at 4 year public institutions was 28% & 50%.
Student PIRGS survey conducted at 132 schools in 26 states, Oct-Sep 2015.
Senack, E. and Donoghue, R. (2016). “Covering the Cost: Why we can no longer afford to ignore high textbook prices,” The Student PIRGS.

9. n = 987 Slide 9: Students respond to textbook costs
Leeward Spring 2015 survey showed that over half of students report not having purchased a required textbook for class. Over half say that cost is a determining factor when enrolling in a course. These numbers mirror national surveys. Students are making decisions based on the cost of textbooks.

10. Slide 10: Impact on grades, persistence, time to graduation
What are some of the impacts of textbook costs on student grades, their persistence, and time to graduation?
According to our survey, 40% of Leeward students felt that not having the textbook impacted their performance in the class. For half of students textbooks costs play a role in whether or not they stay in college. Over one-quarter report withdrawing from a class due to textbook costs. Students are making decisions based on financial constraints which have the potential to impede their success.

11. Can OER help? Faculty reviews of OER:
73% in a national study: OER are just as good or better.
66% of UH faculty
As you can see by the feedback from Leeward’s students, the high cost of textbooks is getting in their way of fulfilling their educational goals.
Faculty have been sympathetic to this issue for decades and have been helping in many ways. Our question today is, can Open Educational Resources help with this problem?
The quality of learning resources is, of course, of foremost concern. A national study published in 2014 by Babson Survey Research Group shows that 73% of ...
The UH OER Team worked with UH Manoa Library to put out a UH system-wide survey of faculty, and 66% of the faculty reported that their impressions of OER leave them feeling
the materials are of equal or superior quality.
OER and University of Hawaii Assessment Survey
Opening the Curriculum

12. OER and student success
Fischer, Hilton, Robinson and Wiley (2015)
completion rates
“C- or better” rates
course grade
increase in “enrollment intensity” in the semester they used OER & the following semester
Seven other studies show that, generally, using OER and traditional materials produce similar (4) or better (3) grades.
This study involved 4128 students in undergraduate courses at four 4-year colleges and 12,599 students in 6 community colleges enrolled in 15 different courses.
Courses included a wide range of content including mathematics, English, psychology, biology, chemistry, business, history, education and developmental courses. Only 15 courses included sections in which either OER (treatment) or commercial textbooks (control) were used. Courses that included only OER sections or only commercial textbook sections were not included in the course-by-course analyses. The initial sample included 4909 students in the treatment condition with 11,818 in the control condition.
A multi-institutional study of the impact of open textbook adoption on the learning outcomes of post-secondary students.
Lovett et al. (2008), Hilton and Laman (2012), Feldstein et al. (2012), Hilton et al. (2013), Pawlyshyn et al. (2013), Allen et al. (2015), Bowen et al. (2014).

13. OER and student success
Hilton (2016)
Three studies reported N.S.
Three favored OER
One favored traditional
Two did not discuss statistical significance of results
The Educational Technology Research and Development just published an article by John Hilton, who reviewed research on the efficacy and perceptions of OER. He did a literature review of many of the
same studies that Fischer et al covered, but added a few that have just been published. He also restricted his analysis to studies that:
Used OER as a primary learning resource that could be compared with traditional learning resources
Research needed to have been published by a peer-reviewed journal or be part of an institutional research report or dissertation
The research needed to have data regarding either teacher and/or student perceptions of OER quality or educational outcomes
The study needed to have at least 50 participants and clearly delineated results.
The study needed to have been published in English and be published prior to October 2015
Reviewed 16 studies, but focused on 9 studies that analyze student learning outcomes when OER are substituted for traditional textbooks.

14. Student feedback Students appreciated customized materials
availability on first day
free or low cost
Taking more courses
Student surveys show high student satisfaction as material is “customized”, available on the first day, and free or low-cost.
Robinson (2015) found enrollment intensity increased by ¼ credit in the semester studied

15. Faculty feedback
Enjoy freedom to customize materials
Ability of students to annotate materials may increase comprehension
When teachers actively select or develop content, presentation is more seamless to students and faculty
Robinson et al. (2014 )

16. ACCESS and AFFORDABILITY
Fischer et. al found that with more OER now matching traditional textbooks in mode of delivery and instructional design, the results of their research is not due to the quality of the OER
but to access and affordability.
ACCESS: Students can get the instructional materials from the first day of class.
AFFORDABILITY: Students can afford more classes.

17. Promising reports from...
Santa Ana Community College
Mercy College (Pawlyshyn et al.)
Tidewater Community College
and others

18. SANTA ANA COLLEGE Santa Ana CC
Began OER Data presented in a webinar via CCConsortium for OER.
No information on whether statistical significance was tested.

19. SANTA ANA COLLEGE
Santa Ana CC

20. 2012 Mercy College Pawlyshyn et al. (2013) Study conducted fall 2012
695 students used OER, compared results with those who took the same course in fall 2011 with traditional materials.
No tests of statistical significance and possible confounding effect with simultaneous introduction of flipped classroom method.

21. Z-degree AS in Business Administration, Tidewater Community College
”TCC saw a significant increase in the percentage of students completing courses with a C or better, while simultaneously cutting the cost to graduate by 20-30%. TCC also saw a significant decrease in withdrawal rates among students enrolled in the Z-Degree.”
Tidewater CC measured
In January 2013, Tidewater Community College began the process to become the first college in the
U.S. to create an Associate of Science degree based entirely on openly licensed content. The combined
efforts of a 13-member faculty team, college staff and administration culminated on August 22nd when
more than 420 students enrolled in the first 16 “Z-courses.” Cumulatively, these students reduced total
expenditures by over $68,
Looked at student success, student retention, student experience and course evaluation, and continuous course improvement

22. Tidewater CC Tidewater CC
Tidewater measured student retention using by looking at drop rates and student withdrawal. There were minor improvements in student drop rates between courses that were Z-degree and traditional courses. For student withdrawal, Z-courses showed a 4.5% withdrawal rate in comparison to an approximate 6.5% withdrawal rate for traditional courses, a statistically significant difference..

23. Tidewater CC Tidewater CC
The scale of this chart is confusing, as the beginning value here is 64%, but it shows improvements in students getting C or better grades ranging from 4% to 1% over three semesters..

24. Zx23: 23 campuses in the Virginia Community College System
Z-degree grows to ZX23
Zx23: 23 campuses in the Virginia Community College System
The findings in regards to withdrawal rates and “C or better” rates led the VCCS to proceed with a $$ million grant proposal to Hewlett Foundation to offer the Z-Degree program across its 23 campuses.
One year grant
How many campuses now engaged? 16 campuses
How many degrees now engaged?
How much $$? $200,000 Hewlett; Matching funds from Chancellor & System Office.
Z-Degree
Hewlett Foundation Blog

25. Slide 24: OER and student satisfaction
So how are students responding to OER?
While students are not the best judge of the quality of course materials they are showing satisfaction with the use of OER in the classroom. Last fall, a survey was distributed to students in 5 classes to measure their satisfaction with the use of OER in the classroom. 87% felt that the quality was just as good as a traditional textbook. 78% felt they did better in class because they had access to resources from the first day. 90% felt that the instructor showed concern for them because they chose a no-cost resource.

26. Slide 25: Libraries, OER, and student success
The three of us are librarians so what exactly is the role of libraries and librarians in OER?
Libraries can raise awareness and inform faculty about the benefits of OER. Librarians can assist faculty with locating OER. We can also guide you to non-OER, no-cost resources.
What we have found in our work with faculty is that the conversion to OER is both time-consuming and challenging. The development of OER is uneven; complete textbooks are available in some subject areas but are limited or non-existent in others.
Libraries can assist in the transition process to true OER (open & free materials) by supporting faculty with paid-for materials such as e-journals and e-books, which are no-cost to students. One strategy we have implemented is our Textbook Cost: $0 designation.
As Sunny mentioned previously the latest research is telling us the main issue is access and affordability.

28. Slide 26: Textbook Cost: $0
The Textbook Cost: $0 branding program began in fall 2015 with 48 sections at Leeward. This semester, two campuses, Kapiolani and Leeward, offer 224 classes/sections designated on the course availability sites as Textbook Cost: $0. At Leeward, this represents 14% of all sections offered. The Textbook Cost: $0 designation helps students identify classes which do not require buying commercial textbooks. These classes are not necessarily using all OER but may use a combination of OER and no-cost resources.
The transition to true OER may present challenges to some instructors but the Textbook Cost: $0 designation can help. As Sunny mentioned earlier, the latest research tells us that the main issue is access and affordability. We’re working with faculty to reduce costs immediately by using not only OER but also other no-cost resources when OER is not readily available. We see this as an intermediate step towards the goal of eventually teaching with all OER.

30. OER at Kapi‘olani - http://oerkapiolani.weebly.com
OER at Leeward -
OER at UH -

31. References
Allen, G., Guzman-Alvarez, A., Molinaro, M., Larsen, D. (2015). Assessing the Impact and Efficacy of the Open-Access ChemWiki Textbook Project. Educause Learning Initiative Brief, January 2015.*
Babson Research Survey Opening the Curriculum
Bowen et al. (2014) Interactive learning online at public universities: Evidence from a six-campus randomized trial. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 33(1),
Community College Consortium for OER. (2015) Panel Discussion: Increasing Student Retention and Success with Open Educational Resources.
Feldstein, Martin, Hudson, Warren, Hilton, Wiley Open Textbooks and Increased Student Access and Outcomes
Fischer, Hilton, Robinson and Wiley A multi-institutional study of the impact of open textbook adoption on the learning outcomes of post-secondary students. Journal of Computing in Higher Education.
Hill, Phil. (2016, Feb 25) Students are spending less on textbooks, but that’s not all good. Chronicle of Higher Education.
Hilton, John III (2016, Feb 19) Open educational resources and college textbook choices: a review of research on efficacy and perceptions

32. References
Hilton, J., Gaudet, D., Clark, P., Robinson, J., & Wiley, D. (2013). The adoption of open educational resources by one community college math department. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 14(4), 37–50.
Hilton, Finkbeiner, and Fancher The Entire Package: OER Research, Implementation, Success Open Educational Conference, Vancouver, BC.
Hilton, J., & Laman, C. (2012). One college’s use of an open psychology textbook. Open Learning: The Journal of Open and Distance Learning, 27(3), 201–217. Retrieved from (Open Repository Preprint)*
Lovett, M., Meyer, O., & Thille, C. (2008). The open learning initiative: Measuring the effectiveness of the OLI statistics course in accelerating student learning. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2008 (1).*
OER Research Hub OER Evidence Report
Pawlyshyn, Braddlee, Casper and Miller (2013). Adopting OER: A Case Study of Cross-Institutional Collaboration and Innovation. Educause Review. Robinson, T.J. (2015). Open Textbooks: The Effects of Open Educational Resource Adoption on Measures of Post-secondary Student Success (Doctoral dissertation).*

33. References
Robinson The Effects of Open Educational Resource Adoption on Measures of Post-Secondary Student Success. Doctoral Dissertation, Brigham Young University.
Robinson T. J., Fischer, L., Wiley, D. A., & Hilton, J. (2014).The impact of open textbooks on secondary science learning outcomes. Educational Researcher, 43(7):
Wiley, D., Hilton, J. Ellington, S., and Hall, T. (2012). “A preliminary examination of the cost savings and learning impacts of using open textbooks in middle and high school science classes.” International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. 13 (3), pp
The “Z-Degree”: Removing Textbook Costs as a Barrier to Student Success through an OER Based Curriculum.
Senack, E. (2015, Feb). Open Textbooks: The billion-dollar solution. Retrieved from
Senack, E. (2014, Jan). Fixing the Broken Textbook Market.

34. References
Senack and Donoghue. (2016, Feb). Covering the Cost: Why we can no longer afford to ignore high textbook prices. The Student PIRGs.
Popken,B. (2015) College Textbook Prices Have Risen 1,041 Percent Since NBC News.