HFC named Michigan’s top community college for student savings with Open Educational Resources

In a recent meeting with the presidents of all of Michigan’s 28 community colleges, HFC was named the educational institution with the most improved usage and savings from Fall 2020 through Fall 2021.

HFC students have saved a total of $757,200 during the course of the 2021-22 through the adoption and use of Open Educational Resources, which are freely accessible, openly licensed instructional materials such as textbooks, media, and other digital assets. They are an alternative to costly traditional textbooks. They are not always available, but the College encourages the development and adoption of OERs to assist students wherever possible.

Faculty across the College have increasingly adopted OER materials for classes, with a number of instructors developing their own customized materials. From the Fall 2020 through Fall 2021, approximately 80 courses used OERs. Assuming students would have paid $100 per course for a textbook (and the cost is often much higher), students are able to access these OERs online at no cost to them. In the Fall 2021 semester, HFC students saved $412,000. In the current semester, HFC students saved $345,200.

“I’m very proud of these numbers,” said HFC Director of Academic Services Dr. Cristina Bailey. “As a community college, it is very important to provide students with free resources so they can allocate other funds for living expenses instead of spending it on textbooks and other materials. It is also the right thing to do, wherever we can.”