Retention and Completion with OER Implementation

Retention and Completion with OER Implementation

OER and Retention / Completion

• OERs have been around for a long time:– MERLOT: 1997– MIT Open Courseware: 2002– BCCampus OpenEd: 2003

• State- or region-wide OER Textbook replacement programs are rather new: – CSU Affordable Learning Solutions: 2010– UMN Open Textbook Library: 2012– Affordable Learning Georgia: 2013

• Large retention and completion analyses in these new statewide programs are still forthcoming.

• We can look at both related and measurable factors to retention and completion within case studies to predict the effects OER will have in the future.

Related Retention Factors

• Availability of Academic Resources• Satisfaction with Costs

Academic Resources

From research literature, we do know that: • Medium or high levels of academic resources available

at an institution lead to a higher probability of degree completion.

• Correlation was even stronger with students of lower socioeconomic status (SES), but positively correlated at all SES levels.

Potential Impact from OER: • The creation, adaptation, and adoption of OER within

courses increases the availability of academic resources.

Cabrera, A. et al. (2012). Pathways to a four-year degree. In Seidman, A., ed. (2012). College Student Retention, 2nd ed. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, Inc.

Satisfaction with Costs

Also from the literature: • Satisfaction with the costs of a four-year degree program leads

to higher degree completion rates among low-SES students. Potential Impact from OER: • OERs reduce the associated costs of a degree program, leading

to increased satisfaction with costs. • OER replacements of commercial textbooks have saved students

millions of dollars, including over $1 million in USG FY 2014. • The UGA Biology pilot project alone saved students over

$150,000 in one year—6 times the cost of the project’s Incubator Grant.

Cabrera, A. et al. (2012). Pathways to a four-year degree. In Seidman, A., ed. (2012). College Student Retention, 2nd ed. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, Inc.

Measurable Retention Factors

• Engagement• Grade Performance• Retention and Successful Completion in Courses• Passing Percentage per Student Dollar Spent on

Learning Materials

Grade Performance

Grade performance obviously affects retention and completion, but how do OER fit in? In an Open University student survey: • OER textbook replacements improved grades for 47% of

respondents• 66% had an increase in the subject’s interest after using

OER in courses• 64% of respondents had an increase in learning experience

satisfaction in OER courses over other courses• 45% reported an increase in lesson engagement with OER

courses

https://openstaxcollege.org/news/oer-research-hub-student-survey

Case: Virginia State College of Business

• In a one-year pilot program to replace commercial textbooks with OER: –30-40% increase in GPAs–More than $200,000 in student savings

http://www.aascu.org/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=6308

Case: Mercy College Mathematics

• In a college-wide adoption or OER: All 27 sections of Basic Mathematics replaced commercial textbooks with OER in fall 2012.

• The pass rate for the course increased from 48.40% in spring 2011 to 68.90% in fall 2012.

• Students saved $125,000 during the first year. • According to a new measure proposed by David

Wiley of Lumen Learning: This is an over 50x increase in passing percentage per dollar spent by students on course materials.

http://opencontent.org/blog/archives/3462

Case: University System of Georgia

The first USG Open Textbook was made for the core curriculum US History I course and implemented in eCore in Summer and Fall 2013. • In Spring 2013, prior to open text implementation: 88% HIST 2111

retention rate.• In Summer 2013, the first semester with the Open

Textbook, retention increased to 94%. • Successful completion (grades A, B, and C) rose from 56% in the

spring to 84% in the summer with the open textbook.– Retention is the measure of non-withdrawals (grades A,B,C,D,F)– Successful course completion is the measure of grades A, B, and C.

Non-successful course completion is the measure of grades D, F, W, and WF.

• OER implementation directly improves these related and measurable retention and completion factors: – Academic Resources Available

• Open Textbooks available at all times with no cost-related barriers to access

– Satisfaction with Costs• Open Textbooks are free • Especially increases completion in low SES students

– Grade Performance• Increased course retention, successful completion rates, and overall

GPAs in case studies• Increased student performance per dollar spent on learning materials

Summary