Since MIT launched the first OpenCourseWare (OCW) initiative in 2002, responses from the academic community have ranged from exuberance to angst. Some institutions have been reluctant to adopt a program of open publishing because of concerns about long-term funding and possible adverse effects on paid enrollment. Money is an issue, forcing some organizations that initially created OCW programs to furlough them due to funding challenges. This study examined the cost of converting online distance learning courses to OCW, the impact of opening these courses on paid enrollments, and the long-term sustainability of OCW through the generation of new paid enrollments. As part of this study, Brigham Young University's Independent Study Program (BYU IS) converted three university and three high school courses to OCW. BYU IS provided an option for OCW users to pay regular tuition and enroll in the online course for credit. The average ongoing cost to convert BYU IS courses to OCW was $284.12 per university course and $1,172.71 per high school course. The six opened courses generated 13,795 visits and 445 total paid enrollments in four months. The profit margin on the paid enrollments OCW generated was calculated to be 3.81% for open publishing to be financially self-sustaining at BYU Independent Study.

This dissertation examines Utah resident views of incentives and disincentives for use of OpenCourseWare (OCW) and how they fit into the theoretical framework of perceived innovation attributes established by Rogers. Rogers identified five categories of perceived innovation attributes, which include relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. A survey instrument was developed using attributes that emerged from a Delphi technique with input from experts in the OCW field. The survey instrument was sent to 753 (n = 753) random individuals between 18 and 64 years of age throughout Utah based on information obtained from Alseco Data Group, LLC. Results indicated that the greatest incentives for OCW use were (a) no cost for materials (M = 4.59, SD = .68), (b) having resources available at any time (M = 4.35, SD = .89), (c) pursuing in depth a topic that interests me (M = 4.24, SD = 0.93), (d) learning for personal knowledge or enjoyment (M = 4.22, SD = .93), and (e) materials in an OCW were fairly easy to access and find (M = 4.12, SD = .98). Results indicated that the greatest disincentives for OCW use were (a) there was no certificate or degree awarded (M = 3.28, SD = 1.54), (b) it did not cover my topic of interest in the depth I desired (M = 3.17, SD = 1.31), (c) lack of professional support provided by subject tutors or experts (M = 3.14, SD = 1.25), (d) lack of guidance provided by support specialists (M = 3.09, SD = 1.26), and (e) feeling the material was overwhelming (M = 3.06, SD = 1.31).

This study examined factors affecting withdrawal rates using a selection of high school and college-level courses from BYU Independent Study (BYU IS). Exposure to BYU Open Courseware (OCW) curriculum prior to registration had no significant effect on withdrawal rates. Prior enrollment in a BYU IS course had a statistically significant positive effect on withdrawal rates, a surprising result. Further HLM analysis of 83,707 students indicated that at least some of the variability in student withdrawal behavior at the high school level was influenced by prior enrollment, the online course format, and courses offered in the fine arts. For both high school and college courses, students enrolled in an online (rather than paper-based "correspondence") course were less likely to withdraw than their paper-based peers. Finally, for college courses, students enrolled in lower division courses were more likely to withdraw from their courses. Students enrolled in Career and Counseling, Engineering Technology, Life Sciences, Family Home and Social Sciences, College of Fine Arts and Communications, Marriott School of Business, or Religious Education courses were less likely to withdraw from their courses than students enrolling in courses from other colleges.

The main purpose of this dissertation study is to provide policymakers, administrators, decision makers and key stakeholders in higher education with a research-based guidance about the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement in Turkey. More specifically, this study aims at determining main incentives and barriers for freely publishing course materials in Turkish Universities from faculty members