Assessing the OER & Textbook Experience at UTSA

Presents UTSA student and faculty feedback collected through the DOERS Student Success Through OER Rubric Grant: Fall 2024-Spring 2025

Key Findings: Faculty

Total Responses

71 UTSA faculty responded to the survey.

Appointment

The majority of respondents (over three-quarters) are in fixed-term-track positions, indicating that most survey feedback reflects the experiences of non-tenure-track faculty.

  • 53 (76%) of faculty that participated were Fixed-Term-Track

  • 17 (24%) were Tenure-Track

Tenure Track

  • Among tenure-track faculty respondents, full Professors make up the largest share of respondents, followed by Assistant and Associate Professors.

  • 7 (44%) of faculty that participated were Professors
  • 5 (31%) were Assistant Professors
  • 4 (25%) were Associate Professors

Fixed Term Track

The majority of fixed-term-track faculty hold Lecturer or Senior Lecturer roles, with a wide variety of other instructional and practice-based titles represented in smaller numbers.

College

Most faculty respondents are concentrated in COLFA and COS, with a fairly even distribution across other colleges, and minimal representation from University College and Data Science.

Teaching

Most instructors teach upper-division and core curriculum courses, with fewer involved in graduate-level or other types of courses.

  • 29% of faculty respondents teach upper-division or non-standard courses
  • 27% teach core curriculum courses. 

Courses Taught Fall

The majority of respondents taught from 2-4 courses in the fall, with 4 being the most common.

Courses Taught Spring

Most respondents taught 2 to 4 courses during the spring, with 4 courses being the most typical load.

Courses Taught Summer

Most respondents either taught 1 course or none at all during the summer, indicating a lighter course load compared to fall or spring.

Textbook Decisions

Textbook decisions at UTSA are largely decentralized, with individual instructors holding the most influence, especially in upper-level and graduate courses. However, there is also a significant level of uncertainty regarding textbook decision-making processes.

  • Individual Instructors are the primary decision-makers across all curriculum types:

    • Most prominent for Upper Division Non-Core (42) and Master’s (39) courses.
    • Also significant for Lower Division Non-Core (32) and UTSA Core Curriculum (23).

  • Course Coordinators play a role mainly in:

    • Lower Division Non-Core (15)
    • UTSA Core Curriculum (8)

  • Textbook Committees are rarely involved, with only 8 responses for UTSA Core Curriculum.

  • Department Chairs show no significant involvement in textbook decisions.

  • A notable number of respondents do not know who makes textbook decisions, especially for:

    • Doctoral (22)
    • UTSA Core (13), Lower Division Non-Core (14), Master’s (12)

  • Many selected “Not in my department”, particularly for:

    • Master’s (21) and Upper Division Non-Core (10)

OER Awareness and Use

OER Awareness

A majority (84%) of respondents have a solid understanding of OER, while a smaller portion (16%) have limited or no awareness, indicating room for targeted outreach and education.

  • 35% (22) are aware of OER and some of their use cases
  • 27% (17) are very aware of OER and how they can be used in their courses
  • 22% (14) are somewhat aware of OER but are not sure how they can be used
  • 10% (6) have heard of OER but don't know much about them
  • 6% (4) are not aware of OER

OER Use Overall

While a significant portion of faculty are using OER (41%), the majority still have not (59%), indicating potential for further outreach, training, or support to increase adoption.

  • 59% (37) have not used OER in their courses
  • 41% (26) have used OER in their courses

OER Adoption

Among faculty who use OER, most are integrating it into multiple courses, suggesting a growing commitment to OER once adoption begins.

  • 39% (9) have used OER in three or more courses
  • 35% (8) have used OER in 1 of their courses
  • 26% (6) have used OER in 2 of their courses

OER Adoption Type

Most faculty who use OER are integrating it as both required and supplemental course material, while 39% use only as required material. A smaller group (17%) uses it only as a supplement. 

  • 43% (10) have used OER as both required and supplemental
  • 39% (9) have used OER only as required material
  • 17% (4) have used OER only as supplemental

OER Perceptions and Priorities

Departmental Perceptions

Most faculty believe other faculty in their academic department perceive OER either neutrally or favorably (55%), with no respondents reporting very unfavorable perceptions. However, a notable portion is uncertain or unaware of departmental sentiment.

Quality Perceptions

While many respondents are unsure about OER quality, those who have evaluated it mostly rate it as acceptable to good, with relatively few reporting poor or very poor quality.

Desired Attributes

Faculty prioritize accuracy, clarity, and appropriateness for course level when evaluating educational resources.

Support and Recognition

UTSA Leadership Support

62% of respondents consider support from UTSA leadership to be a top-three priority.

Recognition

  • Performance Evaluation is highly polarizing—most preferred by many, but also frequently ranked low.

  • UTSA Newsletters is the least favored for top recognition but often appears in lower ranks.

  • Department Chair and UTSA Leadership are consistently seen as meaningful sources of recognition across the middle ranks.

Improving UTSA Support

Faculty prioritize financial support and help finding resources over technical or administrative support when adopting OER.

  • Generous Funding is the most frequently selected 1st priority (24 responses).
  • Finding Support is also highly valued, with 18 responses for 1st and 19 responses for 2nd priority.
  • Support Adapting/Tailoring garners significant attention in the 2nd priority (17 responses).

Other Ideas for Supporting UTSA Faculty that Adopt OER

  • Increase student access to more OER resources.
  • Provide tailored OER materials for specific departments.
  • Offer support in finding high-quality, specialized OER for upper-division courses.
  • Give financial support and course release time to faculty developing OER.
  • Create and share training videos on OER usage and development.
  • Help faculty identify available OER resources more easily.
  • Ensure multiple OER sources are available for each course topic.
  • Improve librarian knowledge and support regarding OER.
  • Offer course releases for full-time temporary (FTT) faculty to create OER.
  • Develop repositories of sorted and tagged OER materials.
  • Emphasize OER’s role in reducing students’ financial burden