Scottsdale Community College (SCC) in Scottsdale, Arizona offers courses to more than 10,000 students from a wide range of communities, including immigrants and Native Americans. These students experience the normal challenges working adults, returning students, and new-to-college students do regarding financial issues such as paying for tuition. OER were introduced at SCC to reduce cost pressures on students.

This OER initiative was led by faculty in the Mathematics department, hoping to provide greater access to learning content at a significantly reduced price point, while maintaining quality in the materials.

This article discusses the benefits, challenges and potential of OER in higher education.

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Keywords

case study · cost reduction · improved access · institutional OER policy · OER implementation · student learning · student retention