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Open Educational Resources (OER)

You may be able to save money on textbooks by choosing classes providing open educational resources (OER).

What does OER mean?

Courses designated in the catalog as OER use class resources that are freely available online, in print or in the library. There's no textbook to purchase; instead, your instructor teaches and assigns work using materials available to everyone.

OER classes may be online or in-person, and located at any of our campuses. Pierce College at JBLM offers the Pierce Open Pathways program, a fully transferable Associate of Arts degree using OER.

Note: Not all courses have an OER option. Some classes may charge a $10 fee for digital resource hosting for OER materials.

How can I find OER classes?

In the college class schedule, click on the drop down menu for Course Attribute and choose "OER: No Textbook to Purchase" to show only OER classes. You may need to click the More Filters button to see this option.

screenshot of college catalog with oer: no textbook to purchase selected as course attribute