The University of New Mexico’s Open Educational Resources (OER) initiative has made significant progress since its inception in spring 2023. Working with faculty, the initiative has driven the adoption, adaptation, and creation of OER at UNM and two other New Mexico colleges. Projections based on historical enrollment and textbook costs estimate student savings from the OER initiative to be between $466,000 and $486,000 for the 2024-2025 academic year.

In spring 2023, Jennifer Jordan, UNM OER Librarian, with support from the OER Working Group and Elisha Allen, Director of Online Strategies and Academic Technologies, prepared a $2.125 million grant proposal for the Department of Education’s Open Textbooks Pilot Program. This proposal resulted in a successful grant award in fall 2023 that funded the creation of the New Mexico OER (NMOER) Consortium. Founding members of the NMOER Consortium include UNM, Santa Fe Community College, and Central New Mexico Community College.

The grant outlines a three-year plan to develop an OER center in partnership with several New Mexico colleges, workforce partners, and departments within UNM. Significantly, the grant provides supportive resources for the development of OER materials through a collaboration with the University of New Mexico Press. The first year of the grant will focus on faculty creation of OER, the second year on testing and refining these resources, and the third year on expanding the consortium to other colleges across the state. Due to the enthusiasm and visibility of these OER initiatives that this grant has generated, additional faculty and institutions are expressing interest in participating in this initiative.

For more information about the consortium and UNM’s OER catalog, visit the NMOER Pressbooks website. The first courses to receive funding include General Chemistry I for STEM Students and its corresponding laboratory (CHEM 1215 & 1215L), General Chemistry II for STEM Students and its corresponding laboratory (CHEM 1225 & 1225L), Quantitative Analysis Lecture and Laboratory (CHEM 2310C), and Writing Instruction for Children and Teens (LLSS 430).

Prior to the award of the federal grant, UNM’s OER Initiative received seed funding in fiscal year 2024 through a $100,000 legislative appropriation to advance the development of OER materials. This led to a call for proposals in fall 2023 offering stipends and support for faculty to develop affordable textbook alternatives. This seed funding allowed UNM to demonstrate existing momentum in applying for the federal grant and build on the successful efforts when the federal grant was awarded.

Thanks to initial state funding, UNM’s English department converted its core writing program to an OER-based curriculum in fall 2023, reducing textbook costs for approximately 3,500 students per semester. This move saved students approximately $96,500 in the first semester, and additional savings are added each subsequent semester that these OER materials are used. In summer 2024, English teachers revised the first edition of their textbook based on feedback from their pilot project. An abridged and printable version was released in time for fall 2024.

The faculty of the following courses developed OER materials with financial support from the State Parliament:

• Architectural Theory (ARCH 624) – Pilot in autumn 2025
• Composition series (ENGL1110, 1110X, 1110Y, 1120)
• Dysphagia (SHS 517)
• Spanish as a Foreign Language (SPAN 1110)
• Art History I (ARTH 2110)
• Introduction to Latin American Studies (LTAM1110)
• Introduction to Medical Spanish (SPAN 2420)
• Swahili I (SWAH 1110)
• World Literature I (ENGL 2650)

To maintain the momentum of the OER initiative and increase the number of students and faculty served, grant-funded hiring is currently underway. UNM IT’s Academic Technologies department has hired a Technical Analyst 3 to help implement Pressbooks software and integrate it with Canvas courses so that students and faculty can seamlessly access OER materials. Hiring is also currently underway for a program coordinator, multimedia specialist, and editor. Faculty at Central New Mexico Community College and Santa Fe Community College are actively developing and testing their grant-funded OER curricula this upcoming fall semester.

To date, the OER initiative has made significant progress on campus and in the New Mexico community. By creating, adopting, and adapting OER, UNM aims to make education more accessible and affordable for students and to give faculty more direct control over the content and materials used in their courses. Through OER, faculty have the freedom to adapt their materials to meet their specific learning goals, New Mexico’s cultural heritage, and the specific needs of New Mexico students. UNM will participate in the annual International Open Access Week (October 21-27) and will host events during the week for students, staff, faculty, and community members to learn more about open access and open educational resources.

Learn more about the OER initiative at oer.unm.edu.