The Joint Committee on Higher Education heard testimony supporting H.1427, a bill to establish a state Open Educational Resource (OER) trust fund to finance the creation, adoption and distribution of free or low-cost course materials.

Why it matters: Witnesses said textbook and required-access-code prices have risen far faster than inflation, creating barriers to enrollment and completion. OER materials are freely licensed textbooks, modules and course materials that faculty can adapt; advocates said a modest state investment yields large student savings and improved outcomes, particularly for Pell-eligible and part-time students.

Deirdre Cummings of MASSPIRG summarized the case for OER: "OERs are teaching, learning, and research materials that replace the need for expensive textbooks" and noted that students frequently skip buying required materials because of cost. Northern Essex faculty reported that their campus saved more than $10 million for students since 2014 through OER adoption and that UMass Amherst's prior $200,000 OER grant produced more than $2 million in student savings over eight years.

Faculty and college leaders said OER also improves equity and retention. Sue Tazjan of NECC cited state data showing decreased failure rates and a 58-to-1 return on investment for OER grants statewide. Testimony described federal grants (notably regional ROTEL grants) that supported the creation of dozens of open textbooks and new STEM materials; witnesses asked for a permanent state fund to scale those efforts and to ensure materials are translated and adapted for diverse student populations.

What the bill would do: H.1427 would create a dedicated state trust fund to support OER development and statewide coordination, with grants to institutions and faculty to author, adapt and translate materials and to provide professional development.

Outlook: Committee members asked for more detail on implementation, metrics for success and linkage to student outcome data; OER advocates offered to provide state adoption and cost-savings data to the committee. No vote was taken at the hearing.

Ending: Witnesses framed the fund as a cost-effective investment that reduces barriers to degree completion and supports pedagogical innovation; lawmakers asked for fiscal estimates and adoption metrics to inform next steps.