Digital-only textbooks reach a new high in U.S. higher education as faculty rate open educational resources highest

One-third of faculty now require OER in a course, the most in the survey’s history

OAKLAND, CA, UNITED STATES, October 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Digital course materials continue their steady gain in U.S. higher education classrooms. One-third of faculty (33%) now offer their required textbook in a digital-only format, up from 29% last year and the highest share recorded, according to the latest annual survey of 3,635 faculty from Bay View Analytics. Fewer than one in ten (9%) offer a print-only textbook.

Open educational resources (OER), teaching and learning materials that are free to use, adapt, and share, are part of that shift. Thirty-four percent of faculty use OER as a required material in at least one course, the highest level in the survey’s history, and nearly half (47%) use OER in some way. When faculty rate their course materials, OER come out on top: an average rating of 84%, compared with 81% for materials from other commercial publishers and 78% for the “Big Three” (Cengage, McGraw Hill, and Pearson).

“Higher education is changing rapidly, as a result of digital tools and AI,” said Dr. Julia Seaman, Research Director at Bay View Analytics. “Our research series spans fifteen years, and is helping institutions identify lasting change from noise and fads. We have seen online instruction and digital course materials rise over this time, and are looking into the data to see what might be next.”

The survey, the 15th in a series tracking how U.S. faculty select and use their course materials, found that:
• Teaching has settled into a post-pandemic pattern. Seventy-one percent of faculty taught fully face-to-face in 2025-26, and 47% taught at least one course fully online, proportions that have changed little over the last several years. Most faculty (65%) teach in a single modality.
• The move from print continues. Just over 90% of students have their required textbooks available as digital format. Required textbooks offered in both formats fell to 58%, from 61% last year, as digital-only rose. Seventy-three percent of faculty require a textbook.
• Faculty see value in both print and digital. Three-quarters (75%) agree that digital materials provide greater flexibility for students, while just under half (47%) agree that students learn better from print, up from 42% last year.
• Faculty grade their course materials well, but not on cost. Faculty gave their curricula an average rating of 81%. Accuracy rated highest (88%); cost to students (72%) and included materials (73%) rated lowest. Ratings varied little by format but did by publisher: OER received the most A grades (50%), and the Big Three the fewest (33%).
• OER awareness is climbing back toward its peak. Sixty-two percent of faculty are aware of OER at some level, up from 59% last year and within two points of the high reached in 2022-23.

“OER awareness is back near its peak, and required use is at its highest,” said Dr. Seaman. “This indicates that the gap between faculty who know about OER and those who use them is narrowing. Our data also show that OER users are more satisfied with their course materials than traditional publishers,” she continued.

These results are part of an annual survey of educators conducted by Bay View Analytics, tracking curricula adoption decisions in higher education in the U.S. The project is supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Online Learning Consortium. The complete report, “Inching Towards Digital: Educational Resources in Higher Education, 2026,” has been released under a Creative Commons license and is available for download at bayviewanalytics.com/HigherEdOER. The entire series of reports for this project and for reports on K-12 is available on the OER section of the Bay View Analytics webpage: bayviewanalytics.com/oer.

An Online Learning Consortium Webinar will be on October 27, 2026. The webinar, “Trends in Digital Learning and OER: Faculty thoughts on OER and Digital Materials in Higher Education”, will review the findings in the report and include a panel discussion on its impact. Registration is free and available here : https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/webinar/faculty-thoughts-on-oer-and-digital-materials-in-higher-education/

About Bay View Analytics
Bay View Analytics is a statistical research firm focusing on survey design, implementation and analysis. The scope of Bay View Analytics’ consulting engagements includes scientific statistical analyses, clinical trial statistics and survey designs for a range of topics, with a particular focus on online education. Bay View Analytics has been conducting research and publishing reports on the state of online education in U.S. higher education for twenty years. Visit www.bayviewanalytics.com for more information or contact us at www.bayviewanalytics.com/contact.

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