Students’ Awareness and Use of Open Educational Resources in a Federal University in Osun State, South West Nigeria

This study investigates undergraduates' awareness and use of open educational resources at a federal university in Osun State, South West Nigeria. Open educational resources offer freely accessible, openly licensed materials that can significantly supplement prescribed textbooks and reduce educational costs for students. Despite global advocacy for their adoption, awareness and usage levels in Nigerian universities remain poorly documented. A descriptive survey design was adopted, sampling 260 undergraduates from the Federal University of Technology, Akure (drawing on Osun State contextual comparison) and Osun State University, Osogbo, across faculties of science, arts, and social sciences. A validated questionnaire measured awareness of specific OER platforms, frequency and purpose of use, and barriers to access. Results indicate that fewer than 35 percent of respondents were aware of established OER platforms such as MIT OpenCourseWare or African Storybook. Most OER users discovered platforms through peer recommendation rather than institutional guidance. Internet data costs and lack of promotional campaigns by university libraries were the primary barriers identified. The study recommends that the university library in Osun State institutions develop OER awareness campaigns, embed OER discovery sessions in first-year orientation programmes, and advocate for institutional open access policies. Keywords: open educational resources, undergraduate awareness, federal university, Osun State, digital learning