New research finds open educational resources (OER) can improve outcomes beyond cost savings, with particular impact on student completion. An American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) report draws on a two-year study of 700,000 student records and interviews with 240 faculty across 15 institutions. The study reports that when courses used free course materials, students experienced fewer withdrawals, more A’s, and community college students graduated up to a year sooner. It also found the strongest results when institutions tailored OER to specific courses and student needs. However, the report cautions that OER adoption often requires shifts in teaching practice and course design and can be labor intensive. It argues that completion gains depend on institutional support—faculty involvement in selection and revision, time and financial compensation, and assistance with alignment to learning objectives and accessibility standards.