DOERS OER Research working group's goal is to provide researchers and practitioners with shared frameworks, practical resources, and common language that strengthen the quality, comparability, and impact of open education research. We invite you to review these tools and incorporate them into your own research and practice to advance transparency, alignment, and student affordability.
National Recommendation: Tiered Course Designations for OER Research
As part of ongoing efforts to improve the quality and consistency of research related to Open Educational Resources (OER), the DOERS Research Working Group undertook a project to investigate course marking practices. Specifically, we examined how institutions designate courses as zero-cost, low-cost, or high-cost and explored whether there is a shared understanding or policy alignment across systems and states.
Leveraging the results of a national survey of DOERS members, the Research Working Group’s Infrastructure subgroup cataloged a variety of terminology and thresholds used in course cost designations. Our goal was to identify commonalities that could support better research design and interpretation. However, this analysis revealed considerable variability in terminology and thresholds, presenting a significant challenge for researchers. The Research Working Group recognizes the critical need for researchers to gather consistent, comparable data on course material costs to accurately assess their impact across institutions, systems, states, and provinces.
In response, the working group developed a set of tiered recommendations to support both researchers and institutional practitioners in categorizing instructional material costs more clearly. These recommendations were first shared with the DOERS3 membership during the October 2024 Convening and refined through feedback gathered at the April 2025 Convening. Final recommendations were completed in Summer 2025.
Purpose of the Recommendation
This tiered structure is intended to:
Recommendation
We recommend that researchers use Idaho’s tiered course designation structure as a guiding framework for categorizing the broad range of cost thresholds used nationally. When collecting data, researchers should request and document the specific dollar threshold associated with any low-cost course designation to enable accurate comparisons. This framework can improve consistency in language and enhance the comparability of findings.
Institutional or system-level practitioners may also find this framework useful for establishing, revising, or expanding their own course marking policies. The tiered structure can guide decision-making, support advocacy efforts for clearer cost communication, and inform system-wide alignment with national research recommendations.
Leveraging the results of a national survey of DOERS members, the Research Working Group’s Infrastructure subgroup cataloged a variety of terminology and thresholds used in course cost designations. Our goal was to identify commonalities that could support better research design and interpretation. However, this analysis revealed considerable variability in terminology and thresholds, presenting a significant challenge for researchers. The Research Working Group recognizes the critical need for researchers to gather consistent, comparable data on course material costs to accurately assess their impact across institutions, systems, states, and provinces.
In response, the working group developed a set of tiered recommendations to support both researchers and institutional practitioners in categorizing instructional material costs more clearly. These recommendations were first shared with the DOERS3 membership during the October 2024 Convening and refined through feedback gathered at the April 2025 Convening. Final recommendations were completed in Summer 2025.
Purpose of the Recommendation
This tiered structure is intended to:
- Provide researchers with a standardized framework to compare course marking practices across institutions
- Encourage institutions and state systems to align or evaluate their own cost designation practices.
- Support transparency for students by enabling the use of clear, tiered designations in course catalogs and registration systems.
Recommendation
We recommend that researchers use Idaho’s tiered course designation structure as a guiding framework for categorizing the broad range of cost thresholds used nationally. When collecting data, researchers should request and document the specific dollar threshold associated with any low-cost course designation to enable accurate comparisons. This framework can improve consistency in language and enhance the comparability of findings.
Institutional or system-level practitioners may also find this framework useful for establishing, revising, or expanding their own course marking policies. The tiered structure can guide decision-making, support advocacy efforts for clearer cost communication, and inform system-wide alignment with national research recommendations.
Research Tier |
Suggested Course Designation Wording |
Cost Designation (Total List Price) |
Tier 1 |
Zero-cost |
$0 |
Tier 2 |
Very-low cost |
$1-$30 |
Tier 3 |
Low-cost |
$31-$50 |
Tier 4 |
Mid-cost |
$51-$100 |
Tier 5 |
High-cost |
More than $101 |
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Researchers are encouraged to adopt this framework in future OER and affordability studies and to cite the tier structure when referring to low-cost course designations. Institutions interested in aligning with this model or revisiting their cost designation policies are invited to connect with DOERS to share insights and explore collaborative opportunities.
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Download a copy of this recommendation:
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Dear Colleague Letter to Researchers
DOERS extends an invitation to the academic community to explore research opportunities in the area of Open Educational Resources (OER) policy, particularly using the SPARC OER State Policy Tracker database. The database presents a comprehensive repository of state-level OER policies, providing researchers with a valuable tool to investigate various aspects of Open Education policy implementation and its impact. Potential research topics include synthesizing and evaluating policy repositories, determining common themes across policies, studying the effectiveness of different policy types, comparing policies at state/system/institution levels, and identifying both barriers and facilitators to policy implementation. Disciplines such as Education, Public Policy, Information Science, and Higher Education Administration may find particular interest in exploring these research avenues. We encourage researchers, especially graduate students, to leverage this resource to contribute to the advancement of Open Education and OER research.
As you pursue your research, we would be happy to connect you with the broader OER network and those developing and implementing OER policies throughout the United States. Please feel free to send an email to [email protected] with the subject line “OER Policy Research” to connect with us.
Download a copy of the template letter.
As you pursue your research, we would be happy to connect you with the broader OER network and those developing and implementing OER policies throughout the United States. Please feel free to send an email to [email protected] with the subject line “OER Policy Research” to connect with us.
Download a copy of the template letter.
| DOERSTemplateLettertoPromoteResearch.docx |
