Open Educational Resources (OERs) are learning materials that are available in the public domain or have been licensed so they can be used freely by others. Faculty can incorporate all or a portion of these resources in their courses and may even be able to make modifications to better meet their desired learning outcomes.

Students and faculty benefit greatly from high quality OERs. Due to rising educational costs, many students cannot afford the prescribed textbook(s) and are coping by using borrowed books, copies placed on reserve in the library, “pirated” or out-of-date editions found on line, or just the PowerPoint slides and class notes provided by the instructor. In developing countries, where accessible education is so critical to economic development, buying new or even used textbooks is beyond the means of most students.