The Impact of Free and Open Educational Resource Adoption on Community College Student Achievement and Course Withdrawal Rates
offerings demonstrate to students that the institution is aware of the countless barriers to obtaining a degree and is working to ensure that cost or access to course materials is not one of them .
Nusbaum , Cuttler and Swindell ( 2020 ) found that first generation and ethnic minority students reported engaging in more negative behaviors , such as taking fewer classes , dropping / withdrawing from classes , and earning poor grades as a result of textbook cost compared to their ethnic majority and continuing-generation peers . Having conducted their study at a large , public university ,
Nusbaum , Cuttler and Swindell
( 2019 ) conclude that “[ m ] arginalized students are making a variety of decisions about their academic life based on textbook costs , including which courses to take and whether to drop particular courses ” (
p . 7 ). This is likely to be profoundly true of marginalized students who choose to enroll at lower cost , open admissions community colleges . Despite the uncertainty of whether student achievement is or is not directly impacted by OER adoptions , the goodwill effect of OER course offerings on students ’ perception of an institution ’ s concern for their success and well-being should not be underestimated .
References
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Bliss , T . J ., Robinson , J ., Hilton , J ., & Wiley , D . ( 2013 ). An OER COUP : College teacher and student perceptions of open educational resources . Journal of Interactive Media in Education 2013 ( 1 ).
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