Before you begin

At the University of Arizona, we serve over 50,000 students every year, all coming from a wide variety of backgrounds. The U of A currently has three strategic imperatives, the first of which is titled “Success for Every Student.”[1] The goal here is to create an atmosphere that allows all students the opportunity to succeed. Our current mission statement underlines our commitment to student success.

MISSION:

We will continuously improve how we educate and innovate so we can lead the way in developing adaptive problem-solvers capable of tackling our greatest challenges.[2]

Access to textbooks and other course materials has a direct impact on student success. Historically, the top issue related to access to textbooks was cost.[3] A national study conducted in 2023 showed that the high cost of course materials had a negative impact on academic success of individual students, with 41% saying that they earned a low grade as a result and another 31% saying that they failed a course.[4]

Adopting open educational resources (OER) — free, customizable course materials — has been a way to combat high costs. Subsequent studies on the usage of OER in post-secondary classrooms have shown students performing better and drop/fail/withdraw rates falling.[5] And this spans all types of classes — including STEM courses. A study at Mercy College showed that after they implemented OER materials in their algebra courses, pass rates increased by almost 20%.[6]

It’s clear that using OER makes a difference. However, cost was not the only issue related to course materials. The second issue mentioned by students? Accessibility.[7]

  1. The University of Arizona. (2025a). Delivering on our promise. Office of the President. https://president.arizona.edu/delivering—on—our—promise ↵
  2. The University of Arizona. (2025b). Purpose, mission & values. About. https://www.arizona.edu/purpose—mission—values ↵
  3. Flaherty, C. (2023, April 28). Affordability, accessibility top course materials concerns. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/academic-life/2023/04/28/college-student-course-material-concerns ↵
  4. Bay View Analytics. (2023). National survey on student course material affordability, 2023. https://www.bayviewanalytics.com/reports/student_course_material_affordability.html ↵
  5. Colvard, N. B., Watson, C. E., & Park, H. (2018). The impact of open educational resources on various student success metrics. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 30(2), 262–276. ↵
  6. Pawlyshyn, N., Braddlee, B., Casper, L., & Miller, H. (2013, November 4). Adopting OER: A case study of cross—institutional collaboration and innovation. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2013/11/adopting—oer—a—case—study—of—crossinstitutional—collaboration—and—innovation ↵
  7. Flaherty, C. (2023, April 28). Affordability, accessibility top course materials concerns. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/academic-life/2023/04/28/college-student-course-material-concerns ↵

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Accessibility Guide for U of A Pressbooks Authors Copyright © 2025 by Arizona Board of Regents is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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