The presenter’s purpose is to encourage other faculty to improve textbook affordability and equity in nursing education. Here is her story: she took a leap and implemented an OER textbook in her Population and Environmental Health Nursing course in Fall 2025 for undergraduate students. A cohort of 39 students used an OpenStax OER textbook in a sixteen-week, in-person course instead of a traditional, commercially published textbook. The outcomes were outstanding! The results showed high student satisfaction, with participants citing ease of access on the first day of class, affordability, and similar or improved learning experiences. Analysis of ATI scores indicated that students in the OER group performed as well as their peers using traditional textbooks, suggesting that cost savings did not negatively impact academic performance. Switching to OER materials saved approximately $150 per student, totaling nearly $6,000 in savings for the entire cohort. This is especially important, as more than half of the program’s nursing students are Pell Grant-eligible, highlighting the financial equity benefits of adopting OER resources in nursing education. Overall, this case study endorses OER integration as a sustainable, student-centered strategy to improve access, affordability, and achievement in undergraduate nursing education.
