Overview
Achieving the Dream’s past and current OER initiatives are helping the field better understand how these resources benefit students, advance culturally responsive teaching, and catalyze innovation at institutions of higher education.
OER Degree Initiative (2016–2020)
This three-year project helped scale the adoption and use of OER at 38 participating colleges nationwide and demonstrated the benefits of institutional investment in OER:
- Higher rates of completion for students enrolled in OER courses
- Added potential for innovations in teaching and learning
- Significant instructional cost savings for students ($10.7 million across the initiative)
An evaluation by SRI Education generated new evidence about the academic, economic, and administrative impacts of this model on students and institutions.
View the report
Teaching and Learning With Open Educational Resources (2020–2022)
Funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, this research project, conducted by ATD and SRI Education, explored how the adoption of openly licensed materials supports open educational practices and culturally responsive teaching at eight community colleges with mature OER programs.
The resulting report — the first of its kind — examines how instructors use OER to advance equity in the classroom.
View the report
Open & Culturally Responsive Teaching in Tennessee (2022–2023)
ATD partnered with SRI Education and the Tennessee Board of Regents to understand how a statewide coordinate effort of OER adoption— and the training, support, and innovation that comes with it — may help faculty redesign their courses with equity as a priority and to identify how students experience the OER-enabled classroom.
Why It Matters
Open educational resources (OER) are freely accessible, openly licensed teaching and learning materials that can reduce the cost of college while expanding access to high-quality instruction. Because OER can be customized, they also give faculty greater flexibility to incorporate diverse perspectives, culturally relevant content, and more engaging learning experiences that reflect students’ backgrounds and needs.
Achieving the Dream’s OER initiatives are helping the field better understand how open educational practices can improve student outcomes, strengthen culturally responsive teaching, and support innovation at scale. Through partnerships with colleges, researchers, and state systems, ATD is contributing valuable evidence about how OER can advance equity, affordability, and student success across higher education.
OER Degree Initiative
This three-year project studied 38 colleges nationwide to understand the institutional investment in OER.
Jump to initiativeTeaching and Learning with OER
ATD and SRI Education are working with eight colleges to explore how OER programs support open pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching.
Jump to initiativeOpen Education in Tennessee
ATD has partnered with the Tennessee Board of Regents to document how professional learning supports open education in OER courses.
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