Crossing the Chasm

Abstract

Due to the ongoing trend of increased higher education costs, state and federal strategies have been implemented in an effort to lower students' cost of college. One such strategy gaining nationwide attention is the implementation of open educational resources (OER) to lower the cost of textbooks. This chapter describes how a higher education institution can support and scale the diffusion of OER adoption by presenting a framework based on Everett Rogers's diffusion of innovation theory, with a focus on engaging the “early majority” in this process to sustain the innovation. The development of the framework and a case study of its implementation and evaluation within a community college district are presented to guide other higher education institutions in the scaling of OER adoption. The chapter also considers influences on the framework that constrain, accelerate, or support OER adoption, and presents implications and recommendations based on lessons learned.