Open Oregon Educational Resources has offered open educational resource (OER) review workshops since joining the Open Education Network (OEN) in 2015. The OEN workshop model has two parts: a workshop presenting OER as a way to solve the problem of high textbook prices, followed by the opportunity for workshop participants to earn a $200 stipend to write a review of a book in the Open Textbook Library. Alternatively, workshop attendees can review OER or alternative course materials not available through the Open Textbook Library for a $300 stipend. The option to review non-textbook OER was innovated by Jennifer Lantrip at Umpqua Community College, and described in more detail in the article Extending Open Textbook Network Workshop and Reviews to Include All OER and Library Materials; non-textbook reviews are collected in a folder in OER Commons.
108 OER review workshops have been offered in Oregon since 2015 with a total attendance of 1,435 participants by headcount. The cumulative data in Oregon show the effectiveness of this program: the workshops have resulted in an estimated $13,789,700 in student savings since 2015, representing $51.44 in student savings per program dollar spent. 1,081 unique instructors at all 24 of Oregon’s colleges and universities have attended OER review workshops and written 858 reviews, resulting in 655 redesigned courses.
Put simply, the ratio of $51.44 in student savings per program dollar spent is the highest of any kind of professional development activity that Open Oregon Educational Resources does. It’s clear that OEN membership and the workshop model are an effective use of statewide resources.
By the numbers
| 2017 | 2019 | 2021 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total program costs | $43,217 | $119,798 | $217,377 | $266,499* |
| Estimated student savings to date** | $607,700 | $2,383,200 | $7,896,900 | $13,789,700 |
| Estimated student savings per program dollar spent | $14.06 | $19.89 | $36.33 | $51.44 |
| Workshop participants who wrote reviews | 71% | 64% | 55% | 56% |
| Workshop participants who adopted open textbooks | 27% | 24% | 26% | 27% |
| Review-writers who adopted open textbooks | 38% | 38% | 26% | 30% |
*Open Oregon Educational Resources has paid $23,411 in membership fees and $243,088 in stipends to date.
**The OEN uses $100 as the per-student/per-course multiplier for savings estimates.
