Middle Tennessee State University finds success with Open Education Resource program

Middle Tennessee State University is celebrating the success of its James E. Walker Library’s Open Educational Resources program, which provides students with free textbooks and course materials. The program was launched in 2021 and has since saved more than 14,200 students more than $1 million in textbook and class material costs.

According to an article on Middle Tennessee State University’s website, Dr. Mark Byrnes, provost, said of the initiative to provide free course materials and textbooks as open educational resources, “Paying for college is a challenge for many of our students, so we constantly look for ways to help keep costs down while keeping academic quality high. This is why we’re enthusiastic about open educational resources, which can significantly reduce students’ expenses for course materials.”

In 2020, Middle Tennessee State University received a Tennessee Board of Regents’ grant totalling $100,000 to improve the school’s available open education resources. The open education resources are available via the school’s James E. Walker Library, which currently provides access to 78 different resources, including textbooks and other class materials, for free via special licenses or the public domain. Students can access these materials online or download them in order to have a hard copy to work from.

The benefits of using open educational resources include cost savings for students and increased accessibility, which is important for students with disabilities who might need or prefer to have the option to increase font sizes in their textbooks or have the pages read aloud to them via text to speech software, both of which are easier to manage when the texts are provided online.

Ann Mulhearn, a Department of History faculty member, described her classes’ reactions to using the open educational resource materials, saying, “They appreciate the savings, of course. It’s frustrating to have purchased a $100 book and only use two chapters in it. OER solves that problem — only what is truly needed for the class is included in the class. They can also download the material to their devices and use it offline, which is extremely convenient. That type of flexibility again removes a barrier to full student participation in the learning process.”

Victoria Grigsby, who is a a Student Government Association senator, echoed this sentiment, saying that she notices students are pleased about the cost savings OER provides them with. “Buying textbooks is a burden for all college students, but it is especially difficult for students who are low-income. As MTSU desires its students’ success, it makes sense to implement free resources in classes to remove some of the barriers faced by a large portion of its students. Additionally, as a Blue Elite campus tour guide, I can say that OER is a huge selling point for new applicants to MTSU and their families, who are concerned about the financial impact of their education,” she said.

The open educational resource program at Middle Tennessee State University has been headed by Ginelle Baskin since 2023. Baskin explained that she and others in the program help instructors find the free OER that they can offer their students. “We can show them where to look and if there is OER, they can adapt it and change it, too. It’s neat to see items out there that are valuable and affordable learning materials,” said Baskin.

She added, “The library is committed to driving down textbook costs. And OER demonstrates the university’s commitment to being equitable, inclusive and student-centered.”

For more information about Middle Tennessee State University, visit the school’s website.