International Journal of Open Educational Resources Volume 2, Issue 1, Fall 2019/Winter 2020 | Page 134

International Journal of Open Educational Resources
outcome of the projects would involve
18,000 students with a cost savings to
those students of over $2,000,000. One
requirement of the program was that all
resources developed as a result of the
grants had to be uploaded to the newly
developed Alabama OER Commons.
Auburn University at Montgomery was
the recipient of two grants out of the
twenty-three awarded throughout the
state in 2018.
Project 2: ACHE/ACCS Open
Educational Resources Grant
ACHE and ACCS offered multiple
grants to develop OER to
replace textbooks and other
costly teaching and learning materials
at Alabama higher education institutions.
At Auburn University at Montgomery,
a collaborative team of English
Composition faculty, librarians, and
instructional designers submitted a
proposal to replace the English Composition
I and II required course materials
with an open textbook. Besides
saving students money, the project
would ultimately provide timely access
to course content. This is particularly
important to the students at Auburn
University at Montgomery, where approximately
68% of the undergraduate
population receives financial aid (U.S.
News & World Report, 2019). It is well
documented that some students do not
have their textbooks purchased on the
first day of classes as they deal with the
high costs associated with purchasing
commercial textbooks (Richard, Cleavenger,
& Storey, 2014). Additionally,
students at some institutions are unable
to purchase books until after the first
or second week of classes due to late
disbursement of financial aid. Moreover,
despite having funds to purchase
textbooks, some students elect not to
purchase them as a way of saving money
to put themselves through school.
As numerous studies have shown, students
who do not have timely access to
course content have greater challenges
achieving successful learning outcomes
(Colvard, Park, & Watson, 2018). Thus,
having an OER available on the first day
of classes ensures all students have access
to the course materials they need to
be successful. Utilizing OERs, Auburn
University at Montgomery sought ways
to lighten the financial pressures of students,
create measurable improvement
of student learning outcomes, and improve
student retention.
Project 2: Inspire
Engagement and Empower
Results through OERs
Because the commercially published
English Composition I
textbook at Auburn University
at Montgomery cost $60.00, the OER
project team sought to adapt and create
an open textbook for this required
high enrollment freshman composition
course. The purpose of English Composition
I is to teach students the essentials
of composition and rhetoric in
order to prepare them for ongoing writing
instruction in English Composition
II. In Composition I, students learn a
fundamental approach to writing (and
reading) tasks at the college level with
an emphasis on developing proficien-
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