Articles

How OER Can Help Overcome the Higher Education Equity Barrier

The cornerstone of the American dream is the ability to succeed in life regardless of one’s family of origin. And, for most people, that requires a college education. Unfortunately, recent research shows that the most reliable ticket to the middle class—a college degree—is rather difficult for students from low-income families to obtain. While this problem has many dimensions, open educational resources (known as OER) can help overcome the higher education equity burden.

One promising model is that offered by the non-profit Modern States. With the stated goal of making the first year of college free for students, Modern States offers dozens of full online courses that prepare students to take the CLEP exam. If they pass the exam, students will earn college credit. Modern States even offers a voucher program to cover the cost of the CLEP exam for some students. While the Modern States courses are professionally produced, they do require the student to stick with a course that is unscheduled and primarily involves textbooks and lectures.