OER Nursing Essentials (ONE)
The Open Educational Nursing Essentials (ONE) project is a collaborative partnership between the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and Rice University’s OpenStax. The initiative expands access to high-quality nursing education, reduces financial barriers for students, and supports the development of a well-prepared healthcare workforce.
During its first phase, the ONE project produced eight openly licensed nursing textbooks that faculty can confidently adopt, customize, and integrate into their courses—and that students can access at no cost. Developed with contributions from nursing faculty and subject-matter experts, the resources are grounded in the AACN Essentials competencies and address the knowledge and clinical judgment skills assessed on the Next Generation NCLEX.
Building on this strong foundation, a new phase of the project is now underway. This expansion increases access to high-quality, openly licensed nursing education materials for faculty and students across Texas. It supports statewide goals to improve affordability, expand access to instructional resources, and strengthen student success in nursing education while addressing workforce needs.
The eight openly licensed nursing textbooks and instructional resources developed as part of the initial ONE project are freely available through the OERTX ONE Hub. Since fall 2024, these resources have been adopted in 248 courses across 44 Texas institutions, reaching an estimated 15,300 students and generating more than $1.5 million in textbook savings. Building on this significant impact and growing adoption, the next phase will expand both content offerings and student support tools to further meet the needs of Texas nursing programs and students. Workshops to support adopting these new resources will be offered in partnership with OpenStax in spring 2027. All new resources will be published and ready for adoption in fall 2027.
New textbook offerings will include:
- Pathophysiology
- Pediatric Nursing
Additional student and instructor support resources will include:
- Nursing exam preparation study guides (online and downloadable formats)
- Interactive, instructor-driven test preparation and assignment tools to support engagement, reinforcement, and readiness within nursing courses and pre-licensure exams, including NCLEX-RN preparation
Any nursing educators interested in participating in the project as contributors or reviewers are invited to email Anthony Palmiotto, Director of Higher Education at OpenStax, avp1@rice.edu.
Information about the initiative and available resources can be found at the project website: OER Nursing Essentials (ONE) Project.
For questions, please contact Dr. Aleyda Cantu-Lee, Director, Student Success and Institutional Partnerships, digitallearning@highered.texas.gov.