Open Educational Resource Textbook Impact on Students in an Introductory Nutrition Course.

Objective: To determine if student outcomes, usage, perceptions, and engagement differ between introductory nutrition courses that used an open educational resource (OER) textbook compared with a traditional textbook.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: College introductory nutrition course.

Participants: Students enrolled in introductory nutrition courses that used a traditional textbook or an OER textbook.

Intervention: Implementation of an OER textbook in all introductory nutrition courses during 1 semester.

Main Outcome Measure(s): Usage, perceptions, and engagement with the textbook were evaluated by an online survey. Student outcome data (eg, grades) were collected from the learning management system at the end of the semester.

Analysis: Differences in student outcomes, usage, perceptions, and engagement were determined by t tests. Open-ended responses on textbook likes and dislikes were evaluated by thematic analysis.

Results: The number of students who completed the introductory nutrition course with a traditional textbook (n = 346) was higher than those who completed the course with an OER textbook (n = 311). There was no difference in student outcomes between textbooks. P values for student usage ranged from <.001 to .001, <.001 for engagement, and <.001 to .001 for perception with the OER textbook, with significantly better P values for outcomes than those with the traditional textbook. The $0 cost and place-based nature were noted as positive attributes of the OER textbook, whereas students appreciated the format and visual appeal of the traditional textbook.

Conclusions And Implications: Academic performance in introductory nutrition was not affected by an OER textbook. An OER textbook for introductory nutrition may be an appropriate solution for institutions seeking to reduce student costs.