The escalating price of instructional materials creates significant economic and academic hardship for many students. Open educational resources (OER) are instructional materials that are typically electronic and copyrighted under a license that allows free student use. Adopting OER is one strategy that has gained traction from higher education institutions and faculty to increase textbook usage while decreasing material costs. However, effective implementation of alternative resources requires a consideration of user perceptions, resource efficacy, and barriers to adoption. Thus, a systematic review of 97 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2002 and 2023 was conducted to answer three research questions: (1) what are student and faculty perceptions of OER; (2) which incentives and barriers impact OER adoption and use; and (3) what is the impact of OER on student achievement? Analysis of findings suggested that students and faculty have positive views of OER and believe they are of similar quality to paid instructional materials. Across culturally diverse studies, faculty and students reported incentives such as cost savings, accessibility, and increased academic engagement when using OER, but also reported technological and institutional barriers to using and adopting these materials. Student academic performance is stable across course grades, exam grades, and retention rates when using OER and especially beneficial for disadvantaged student achievement. Practical implications for instructors, university administrators, and researchers are advanced to mitigate barriers toward OER utilization and to enhance the potential for academic effectiveness.