The purpose of this quantitative ex post facto comparative study was to assess the differences in final course grades between students enrolled in courses taught at a rural southwestern U.S. community college using commercial textbooks (CT) and those in courses using Open Educational Resources (OER) for all students, Hispanic students, and first-generation students, when controlling for high school GPA. Educational equity was the theoretical foundation. Three research questions asked whether there were differences in final course grades between students enrolled in CT courses and those enrolled in OER courses—all students, then the subset of Hispanic students, and finally the subset of first-generation students—when controlling for high school GPA. The study was conducted with secondary data retrieved from the college’s student records database. The sample included 112 students in each student group enrolled in CT and OER courses between the fall 2019 and summer 2022 semesters. The results of three one-way ANCOVAs showed no statistically significant differences in final course grades between students enrolled in CT courses and those in OER courses for all students, F (1, 221) = .01, p = .899, η2 < .001, Hispanic students, F (1, 221) < .001, p = .963, η2 < .001, and first-generation students, F (1, 221) = .14, p = .702, η2 < .001. This implies that academic outcomes were not significantly affected, either positively or negatively, by the use OER. These findings provided empirical evidence that may alleviate concerns about the impact of OER on students’ academic achievement at rural community colleges.

Keywords

open educational resources · OER · commercial textbooks · community college · Hispanic students · first-generation students · college students · educational equity