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Open Educational Resources (OER) at UVA

A guide to educational material that are freely available to use, adapt, share, and reuse.

Why OER Matters

Library staff and UVA instructors see the impact of the costs of course materials every day. The Library works to support OER to increase student access, improve academic performance, and create a more inclusive education at UVA.

Benefits for Instructors

  • Academic freedom: Open licenses make it far easier to adapt, update, and tailor existing OER quickly and with the full protection of the law—something NOT possible with textbooks.

  • Inclusive Pedagogy: Open educational practices empower faculty to create a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environment that embraces all learners and provides equal access to opportunities and information.
  • Better learning outcomes: research shows "students achieve the same or better learning outcomes…while saving money”  (2019 OER Report)

Benefits for Students

  • Improved access: Open Educational Resources enable students to engage with your content before, during, and after your course. Unlike with many commercial resources, access does not expire at the end of the course.

  • Academic success: Many studies show that students are doing as well or better with OER, across different fields. (2023 Study)
     
  • Cost savings: The 2024 SERU survey showed that 59% of UVA students have concerns about the cost of their education; the Library’s 2019 Student Survey further confirmed that 3 out of 4 UVA students find alternatives or choose to not purchase required materials at all. VIVA's 2025 Course Materials Survey revealed that students feel that the cost of course materials negatively affects their schoolwork and their personal lives. For additional information about VIVA's Course Materials Survey, you may find the FAQ page useful. 

Surveying Virginia's Students

The 2025 VIVA Course Materials Survey asked students about impacts of the costs of course material on their experiences. UVA was among the institutions represented by student responses in the survey. The research questions included:

  1. What is the impact of course material costs on educational equity among Virginia students?
  2. What course content materials do students find to be most beneficial to their learning?
  3. What barriers are presented to students due to course material costs and how can those barriers be categorized and addressed by stakeholders?

Key takeaways from those findings include:

  • Cost of course materials cause student worry
    • 7 in 10 students are worried about meeting their course materials costs.  
  • Students’ academic careers are affected by the cost of course materials
    • Students indicated that costs might lead them to take fewer courses, not register for a course, or perform poorly once enrolled. Some students report this happening frequently.
    • Many respondents reported that the cost of course materials was a factor in choosing their institution, their major, and their classes.
  • Students attempt to mitigate costs
    • Students often buy used copies, take advantage of free online texts, share with classmates, buy only selected portions, or borrow copies (when available) from libraries. 
  • Financial aid isn't always the answer
    • Over half of the students surveyed report no costs were covered by financial aid or financial aid was not available.  
    • 55% of students indicated none of their course materials costs were covered.
  • Impact takes its toll (student quotes)
    • ​​​​​​​"Because of my financial situation, I am choosing to graduate in three years which caused me to have to drop my Psychology minor.  Graduating in a shorter amount of time will overall decrease the financial strain on my family."
    • "I didn't eat breakfast for weeks, ask friends for food, delayed on my assignments, I have to walk far distances because I can't afford parking, strict budget, etc."
    • "Sometimes, I wait until I fail the first quiz/test/homework assignment to buy course materials.  I do this to see if I actually need the textbook to pass the course.  This negatively affects my grades and causes me stress."
    • "[Costs are] forcing me to not sleep much while balancing school and work."