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OER and Affordable Learning Solutions (AL$)

Information on free and low-cost textbook and courseware options: what they are, how to find them, and programs to support their adoption.

What are affordable course materials?

Affordable course materials can include:
  • Open educational resources, or other free or low-cost textbooks
  • Open courseware, or other free or low-cost learning resources and ancillary materials (test banks, homework, and so on)
  • Books or articles licensed for use through the library
  • Public domain materials
  • Instructor-created materials

What are Open Educational Resources?

Open educational resources (OER) are learning materials such as textbooks, online homework, test banks, interactive modules and even entire courses that are freely available to be used, remixed, improved, and redistributed. They are often available under a Creative Commons license. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which has been supporting OER since 2002, defines them as "high-quality teaching, learning, and research materials that are free for people everywhere to use and repurpose."

About the CSU AL$ initiative

AL$/OER Reports & Research

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