Why OER &Affordable Course Content?
Why are OER and Affordable Course Content needed?
Results from the Virginia Course Materials Survey, conducted in the fall of 2021, highlight the impact of course material costs on educational equity for Virginia students. Over 5,600 students from 41 VIVA member institutions responded to the survey and this page shares a few key findings. Access the Executive Summary and Full Report through the button below.
Course material costs cause students worry
78% of all respondents expressed some level of worry about meeting their course material costs in Fall 2021, and 42% classified themselves as moderately or extremely worried.
Student Academic Careers are Damaged by Course Material Costs
Course material costs have hurt students’ academic careers in the areas of progress (taking fewer courses), opportunity (not registering for specific courses), and success (earning poor grades and failing). For a subset of students, these experiences are frequent.
The negative impact of course material costs goes beyond academic career challengesÂ
Many respondents noted the negative impact of course material costs on their life and wellness. Even though survey respondents were not specifically asked about this area, they overwhelmingly provided additional information on the larger impacts on their lives of these costs when responding to open-ended questions. Concerns about meeting basic needs were expressed as students negotiated the challenge of finding funds to purchase course materials. Respondents noted that the stress of course material costs compromised their mental health and sometimes created or added to feelings of distrust towards faculty, institutions, and higher education in general. This sometimes led to feelings of inequity, as some respondents reported being acutely aware of their disadvantaged status in comparison to peers who had the resources to acquire all their course materials. Student debt was also an area of significant concern, with many respondents reporting the costs of course materials as a factor in the cumulative total of their debt. A number of respondents reported needing to work more hours and/or more jobs to be able to meet the costs, which had an adverse impact on their academic achievement.
