Member Spotlight: JoAn Kivlehan
A New York nursing instructor makes the case that OER models the values that nursing is built on
Over two years, JoAn Kivlehan watched a worrying trend: the number of students buying required course materials dropped each semester. As a nursing faculty member at Manhattanville University in New York, she knew what that likely meant: students were going without.
That's a particular problem in nursing. Prelicensure programs, the coursework students must complete before they can sit for the NCLEX licensing exam and practice as registered nurses, are already a gauntlet. Nursing students routinely face thousands of dollars in program costs on top of tuition, and textbooks can run hundreds of dollars per course. In a field already facing a well-documented national shortage, cost barriers that push nursing students out before they ever reach the exam room carry real consequences for the patients who will one day need them.
JoAn's response was practical. She piloted an OpenStax nursing textbook in Fall 2025 and watched closely. The result was unambiguous: standardized exam scores held steady compared to the previous semester, when students had used traditional textbooks. The textbook worked, and this time, every student had one.
For JoAn, one big measure of success was clear: every student had the book on the first day of class. "Open education aligns with my personal and professional values because it provides all my students an equal chance to learn from day one while eliminating cost barriers," she says.
Her hope for the field is more nursing faculty adopting OER in prelicensure courses. "It demonstrates to students that we care about them," she says, "and models a caring culture." In a profession built on that ethic, she thinks the message should start in the classroom.
“Several colleagues have made a tremendous impact on this journey,” says JoAn. She credits Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences Debra Simons, Library Director Jeff Rosedale, and her Capella University mentor Dr. Ella Benson for their support. Her guiding principle is simple, and classic: "Treating others the way we would want to be treated goes a long way!"
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