John Jay Faculty Lead Innovation in Open Educational Resources & Curriculum

From 2020 to 2026, John Jay’s open education efforts saved students $3 million in course material costs. Faculty created 95 open educational resources and authored four original Pressbooks, all housed in CUNY Academic Works. With nearly 200 faculty members engaged in open learning initiatives, John Jay was selected as one of just 15 colleges nationwide for an AAC&U study on open education and student success.

• John Jay is contributing to national leadership in student success: Participation in AAC&U’s groundbreaking national study (of nearly 700,000 student records across 15 institutions) positions the College as a key contributor to evidence demonstrating that OER improve student outcomes and accelerate degree completion.
• OER are now a nationally recognized high-impact practice: AAC&U’s designation of OER as the 12th High-Impact Practice affirms that OER—long associated with affordability—are also a proven strategy for advancing student learning, persistence and success, particularly for historically underserved students. 
• The evidence is clear: OER improves student outcomes while removing barriers. The study found higher rates of A grades, lower course withdrawal rates and improved time-to-completion for students in OER-supported courses, demonstrating that access and academic excellence can be advanced together.

John Jay will continue to expand OER to reach more students and embed this high-impact practice across the curriculum.