Charting the Course of Open Educational Resources: Past Milestones and Future Horizons

Each low-cost or no-cost textbook published by Open Educational Resources at UTA Libraries shapes how knowledge is delivered to students on their higher education journey.  

During a presentation on March 6 as part of Open Education Week, Megan Zara, OER Librarian, shared with the audience about the impact OER is making on campus and around the globe. 

"One of the things that we do in our department is publishing, which helps to support student success," Megan said. "We also support faculty to transition into this open movement as well." 

Megan stated that the faculty-produced materials published through OER are shared under an open license that allows for their free use and adaptation. This allows them the ability to share these materials with others for their use.  

UTA's journey with OER began in 2017. In the program's first few years, 16 awards were given to faculty members who would support them in creating, modifying, or adopting open resources. This allowed them to make those resources available for free or at low cost to students.  

The number of published materials has grown to 25 publications that cover 18 different academic fields. Seven textbooks are anticipated to be published later this year. Funding for publishing comes from foundations, government institutions, grants and the university. 

Megan stated that one of the exciting things that OER accomplished in 2023 was to fund the development of openly licensed content created for all eight courses in the American Sign Language program at UTA.   

 

Jessica McClean, Director of Open Educational Resources, agreed with Megan that this type of service on campus is needed. The numbers reflect that trend, with cost avoidance for students totaling around $6 million for the 2022 -2023 academic year.  

Megan shared that OER's reach goes beyond UTA. Universities and independent learners through Google are discovering materials across the country and the globe. Some countries using OER materials include Canada, Thailand, Ethiopia, Germany, Switzerland, Ecuador and Australia.  

She noted that OER's goal is student success. Working with faculty to publish open materials removes barriers to education to achieve that goal.  

Those interested in utilizing OER's Mavs Open Press to publish a textbook or use an already-created book can visit the UTA CARES Grant Program website for more information. 

The UTA Libraries’ OER department can be reached directly at OER@uta.edu.