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Abstract

The costs associated with education, including tuition and learning resources, continue to rise causing affordability issues for learners. It has been reported that the cost of traditional textbooks and materials has risen by as much as 103% over the past decade (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). Due to this increase, many students have opted out of purchasing required textbooks for classes. A study conducted in Florida found that 67% of students did not purchase required textbooks (Florida Virtual Campus, 2016). Institutions of Higher Education are becoming increasingly concerned with textbook affordability and the impact on academic performance, achievement, and completion (Jhangiani, Dastur, LeGrand, & Penner, 2018). These institutions have begun delving deeper into the issues associated with textbook affordability and seeking ways to reverse the negative effects experienced by learners due to rising textbook costs.

The implementation of open educational resources (OER) may be the solution, however, the impact of these resources is still undefined. OERs are being examined as cost-effective substitutions to traditional textbooks and literature suggests that OERs are equally effective and are comparable in quality to traditional textbooks (Hilton, n.d.). Current literature recommends further exploration concerning stakeholder perspectives of OER adoption and integration as well as examining the impact of OERs across educational institutions globally. A case study conducted at a state college in Florida sought to examine the perspectives of a group of four identified stakeholder groups (i.e., faculty, librarians, instructional designers, and students) in order to better understand the impact of these OERs at the institutional level (Wright, 2018).

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