What we don't yet know about open educational resources (opinion)

In the case of open educational resources (OERs) -- free course materials, openly licensed and able to be used and mixed with permission -- student learning and millions of dollars are at stake. As enrollment pressures and funding shortcomings continue to shape higher education decision making, many schools switch to OERs. Clearly, free is cheaper than alternatives. Clearly, more students, especially low-socioeconomic-status ones, will be better able to afford a textbook and even education in general. But are OERs as good as traditional, albeit costly, resources? It is too early to tell from the research so far.