About the Playbook
The rising cost of higher education is about more than tuition—expensive textbooks and course materials remain a looming barrier to college affordability and access. Open Educational Resources (OER) are a solution to high-cost materials and state legislators are starting to take notice. Nearly half of all states have considered OER legislation in past years, and it has increasingly become a go-to strategy for legislators seeking to make college education more affordable and effective. States can catalyze and support action at institutions by providing resources, incentives, and policy frameworks.
The OER State Policy Playbook provides policy recommendations for U.S. state legislators interested in tackling college affordability through OER. Download this resource and share it with interested policymakers.
Recommended OER Definition
The term “open educational resource” means a teaching, learning, or research resource that is offered freely to users in at least one form and that either resides in the public domain or has been released under an open copyright license that allows for its free use, reuse, modification, and sharing with attribution.
More Resources
- SPARC OER State Policy Tracker: Track current and past state legislation about OER, textbook affordability, and online education state-by-state—updated weekly.
For questions about the playbook and state-level policy, contact [email protected].
