Affordable Content at UNO: Demonstrable Impact on Student Success, Retention, and Graduation

Sustained, collaborative partnerships between the Research and Instruction Services (RIS) department at Criss Library, in close collaborative partnership with Innovative and Learning-Centric Initiatives, General Education, and Dual Enrollment, has enabled the University of Nebraska at Omaha to develop one of the most comprehensive affordable content initiatives in the region. The results are clear: affordable content adoption at UNO is not only saving students money—it is measurably improving student retention, course completion, and academic performance.

A cornerstone of these initiatives has been the implementation of a robust course tagging initiative denoting whether courses are no-cost (requiring no materials purchases) or low-cost (required purchases less than or equal to $40). This provided researchers with the opportunity to undertake the following assessments of student success metrics.

Rigorous Retention Analysis: Bishop et al. (2025)

Bishop, Farooq, Swift, and Finlay (2025) conducted a large-scale, multi-year quantitative study examining the effects of low-cost and no-cost course materials at UNO. This study examined courses impacted by the Criss Library’s Affordable Content Grants program.

Using 194,069 student-course records involving 36,731 unique students, the researchers employed propensity score methods to ensure that students in Open Nebraska (ONE)-tagged courses and non-ONE groups were structurally similar across demographic and academic characteristics.

Their findings, published in The Journal of Academic Librarianship, found that students who enrolled in at least one ONE-tagged course were significantly more likely to remain active in their studies.

Among students who had not yet graduated at time of study:

• 79.1% of students who had taken at least one ONE-tagged course were still active.

• Only 36.9% of students who had never taken a ONE-tagged course remained active.

When disaggregated by type of affordable content:

• 84.2% of students who had exclusively taken at least one no-cost-tagged course remained active.

• 67.2% of students who had exclusively taken at least one low-cost course remained active.

These differences were statistically significant (p < .05). In practical terms, this means that students exposed to affordable content were dramatically more likely to persist toward degree completion.

The study also examined individual higher-enrollment courses that transitioned to ONE-tagged statuses. In CIST 2100: Organizations, Applications & Technology, for example, conversion to no-cost materials resulted in a statistically significant increase in average GPA (from 3.28 to 3.50).

System-Level Evidence: Pelton et al. (2023)

While Bishop et al. focused UNO, Pelton et al. (2023) examined student success across the NU System as part of the Open Nebraska (ONE) initiative. This white paper represents the first systematic, intercampus assessment of low- and no-cost adoption across UNO, UNL, and UNK.

The results at UNO are consistent and encouraging.

After excluding pandemic-disrupted semesters, Pelton et al. report that at UNO:

• DFW (Drop, Fail, Withdraw) rates were 4% lower in OER sections

• For first-generation college students, DFW rates dropped 8%.

• The percentage of A grades earned was 5% higher in OER sections.

• First-generation students earned 10% more A grades in OER sections.

• Less-than-full-time students experienced DFW rates 8% lower in OER sections.

Return on Investment

As of Spring 2026, the Open Nebraska System is well over $30 million savings. At UNO, that figure should crest $10 million this summer. However, money, while eye catching, doesn’t describe the overall impact of investment in these initiatives, and the return on that investment for the university.

Open Nebraska:

• Increases early access to course materials.

• Reduces DFW rates.

• Improves average GPA in key courses.

• Dramatically increases student retention.

• Shows particularly strong effects for first-generation and part-time students.

For an urban, access-oriented, R2 institution like UNO, these outcomes directly support strategic priorities in retention, equity, and degree completion.

Strategic Alignment and Institutional Impact

UNO’s Affordable Content Grants program represents a collaborative, data-informed intervention. It has grown through partnership funding from Digital Learning, General Education, the Chancellor’s Office, and the Provost’s Office (Bishop et al., 2025). The research partnership with campus data analysts ensured rigorous evaluation methods—an uncommon but essential feature in OER assessment.

As UNO continues implementing the MavEd General Education curriculum, scaling affordable content across high-enrollment courses and pathways represents a direct, evidence-based strategy for improving student success. When students have access to required materials on day one at low or no cost, they are more likely to complete courses, remain enrolled, and progress toward graduation.

Affordable content at UNO is not simply a cost-saving initiative. It is an impactful student success strategy backed by data.

For more information about Criss Library’s Affordable Content Grants program, contact:

Craig Finlay, OER and STEM Librarian

Bishop, K., Farooq, O., Swift, A., & Finlay, C. (2025). Assessment of a textbook affordability initiative: A framework for measuring the impact on student enrollment and retention outcomes. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 51(3), 103025. https://www-sciencedirect-com.leo.lib.unomaha.edu/science/article/pii/S0099133325000217

Pelton, Julie A.; Carlton, Kimberly A.; Finlay, Stephen Craig; Glenn, Emily J.; Hawkins, Daniel; and Lindburg, Jaci, "Student Success in Open Nebraska Courses: NU Intercampus OER Research Committee White Paper" (2023). Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications. 28. 
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/socanthfacpub/28 

About Criss Library

The Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library fulfills the UNO mission through dynamic services, highly qualified and adaptive personnel, unique and extensive collections, and accessible learning spaces and environments. With its location on UNO’s Dodge Campus, Criss Library provides UNO students, faculty and staff, and the Omaha community with the resources and materials needed to excel academically and professionally.