their course resources. When these opportunities are identified, the curriculum team can change the resource link and citation provided in the Canvas classroom; no changes to the curriculum are needed! Adopting Open and Affordable Educational Resources (OER/AER) We are also exploring how to increase Open Educational Resources (OER) and Affordable Educational Resources (AER) resources. Studies have shown that retention rates increase significantly for course sections where OER was used, and withdrawal rates decrease (Griffiths et al., 2020). OER can also be a powerful tool for universities to advance their Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, Accessibility, and Justice (DEIBAJ) goals by making education more accessible, relevant, and inclusive (Watson et al., 2023). The learning resources team has adjusted the adoption process to encourage the use of OER and AER materials and to ensure support from library liaisons who can aid Faculty Subject Matter Experts (FSMEs) in research and curation efforts. Next, we will explore opportunities for course marking to indicate that a course is low- or zero-cost (providing students with additional information for their financial planning) and the potential for a grant-sponsored incentive program to encourage FSME to adopt OER. Creating Custom Resources We also support FSMEs in creating custom resources when they can’t find an existing resource or don’t find existing resources to be a good fit. Our in-house Editorial team and proprietary eReader platform, Constellation, provides a unique opportunity for FSMEs to request a custom solution, whether a full- length textbook, OER, or AER content, or a reader to combine existing open resources with new custom content. An AER Reader is currently underway for GEN104, which will include a selection of OER and library readings, as it is important for students in the course to read various materials. The reader will be delivered to students through Constellation for $25 and incorporate faculty-created original content to better introduce and contextualize the readings. It will also include media and an audiobook, which will enhance the student experience for a fraction of an average textbook fee ($90). Progress So Far
Since the initiative began in 2023, 29 required resources have been transitioned to fulfillment via the library, which has removed approximately $124,000 in annual student fees. Currently, 22 percent of UAGC course resources are no-cost to students, and 10 percent are low-cost or AER ($1-50). And these numbers do not yet include the 28 additional courses scheduled to move to no-cost resources by this summer! The Master of Public Health program has made noteworthy strides toward lowering resource expenses.
UAGC Course Resources
22%
10%
68%
No-Cost
Low-Cost (<$50)
Over $50
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