Hilton III, J. Gaudet, D. Clarke, P. Robinson, J. & Wiley, D. (2013) report on the impact on using a range of math OER with more than 2000 students during the Fall semester 2012. Hilton III et al estimate that up to a quarter of a million dollars were saved during the pilot of math OER during Fall 2012. This amount was calculated as follows:
“SCC faculty members who were surveyed as to the costs of the textbooks they typically have required in the past reported that the average cost of these textbooks was $125. Some courses ranged as high as $220. As stated above all of the materials necessary for the five different math courses included in this study were available online for free; in some instances hard copies of textbooks were also made available for optional purchase at prices ranging from $13.00 to $30.00. If we assume that all 2,043 students would have purchased a $125.00 textbook, and instead used the openly licensed, free online materials, the resulting savings would be $255,375.00. Clearly not every student would have purchased a new textbook, and some students may have opted to purchase a printed copy of the open materials, but this figure does indicate the significant cost savings to students that can result from a single semester’s adoption of OER.”
(Source: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1523/2652)
For further evidence relating to this case study, please see these additional posts on student performance and retention and student satisfaction.
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