OER refers to Open Education Resources that can eliminate or at least minimize your textbook costs. You can sign up for an OER class by talking with your advisor and asking that they search your required courses for No Cost (NC) or Low Cost (LC) options.
Pay nothing for textbooks with a No Cost (NC) course at MATC. So, FREE course text materials are available on day one in Blackboard.
Pay less than $50 for textbooks with a Low Cost (LC) course at MATC.
Other benefits to OER courses is that they tend to be more student centered and interactive than traditional textbook courses.
Try one and see!
SELF SERVICE LINK: Click here to Register for No Cost (NC) and Low Cost (LC) textbook courses
SELF SERVICE LINK: Click here to Register for No Cost (NC) and Low Cost (LC) textbook courses
Want to know more about OER? Send your questions to oer@matc.edu.
Answer this one question MATC OER website Scavanger Hunt, and you'll be entered to Win!
Deadline March 15.
OER SAVES STUDENTS MONEY: Since MATC has started offering OER courses three years ago, MATC students have collectively saved over a million dollars!
OER IMPROVES STUDENT SUCCESS: Classes that use Open Education Resources not only save students money, but improve student success rates. To read more about this, check out this international study.
Source: Colvard, Nicholas B., C. Edward Watson, and Hyojin Park. "The Impact of Open Educational Resources on Various Student Success Metrics." International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 30, no. 2 (2018): 262-276.
OER IMPROVES EQUITY AND INCLUSION, as MATC and other institutions like MIT and Macalester College are noting. In fact, the American Association of Colleges and Universities recommends OER as a way of promoting equity and inclusion.
OER = AFFORDABLE as traditional textbooks costs are rising at four times the rate of inflation. Read more about it here and here. In fact, even the United States Congress is working to address the sharp rise in textbook costs since 2006.
We are looking for student representatives to join the MATC OER open access team. If you are interested, contact oer@matc.edu.