Open Educational Resources

For Students

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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of college textbooks rose 88% between 2006 and 2016. This high cost of textbooks leads many students to skip purchasing textbooks for one or more of their courses. Seeking affordable textbook alternatives, such as using high-quality but reasonably low-cost materials, can go a long way in helping reduce financial barriers and helping students succeed in their field.

NCTC is committed to student success by eliminating the barriers that hinder students from reaching their academic and career goals. One barrier for students can be the cost of course textbooks. There are several ways to address the rising costs of course materials, including open educational resources (OER) and low-cost course materials.

OER is defined by the Texas Education Code (section 51.451) as “teaching, learning, or research resources that are in the public domain or that have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use, adaptation, and redistribution by any person. The term may include full course curricula, course materials, modules, textbooks, media, assessments, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques, whether digital or otherwise used to support access to knowledge.”

No-Cost courses are those in which the instructor relies on open-access resources, instructor-produced, or instructor-curated course materials, shared digitally, online, free of charge, and free of copyright and licensing restrictions.

Low-Cost Course Materials refers to those that are available to students for no more than $60 per course. These include resources that are bought new or rented, either in print or digitally. This includes copyrighted material, materials used under Fair Use, and materials accessed on the open web. Some courses are designated as “low-cost” if the course materials are used in multiple courses in a student’s degree program. Other fees—such as materials fees, tech fees—are not included in the $60 limit for low-cost or OER designation.

Divisions or Programs with Entire OER or No/Low-Cost Options in 2022-2023

The following certificate, divisions, course sequences, and courses rely on course resources that are either open educational texts, no-cost, or low-cost. Plans are underway to promote OER, no-cost, and low-cost certificates, programs, and courses to students.

Certificates

Programs/Divisions

Course Sequences

  • First-Year Composition (INRW 0305, INRW 0310, ENGL 1301, ENGL 1302)

  • Technical Writing (ENGL 2311)

Individual Courses

OER/No-Cost Courses

Low-Cost Course Materials