A Closer Look At West Virginia’s Broadband Barriers and The Potential of Open Educational Resources: A Systematic Review

Abstract

West Virginia (WV) faces a unique convergence of socio-economic and geographic challenges, including persistent rural poverty, a declining extractive economy, and a severe opioid crisis (Alzarrad, 2024; Douglas & Walker, 2017; O’Leary et al., 2018; United States Census Bureau, 2024). These systemic barriers are rooted in the uneven geographical development produced by legacy Neoliberal frameworks, manifesting today as profound infrastructure deficiencies, most notably a digital divide that maintains the state’s position at the nation’s periphery regarding high-speed connectivity (Burdette, 2024; Bustillos, 2017; O’Leary et al., 2018; WV Office of Broadband, 2025). Such factors create inequities that hinder access to higher education, particularly within the community college system. Using a critical geography framework, this study employs a PRISMA-guided systematic review to examine the intersection of internet accessibility and Open Educational Resources (OER). The analysis seeks to answer how accessibility challenges impact rural community college students and whether OER initiatives can serve as a mechanism for social justice by mitigating these barriers.  Results indicate that while OER offers a transformative pathway to decommodify learning materials and reduce the financial burden on students in an economically distressed region, its efficacy is currently throttled by physical and digital obstructions, ranging from the mountainous terrain and the National Radio Quiet Zone to the resource curse that diverts educational funding toward environmental and health remediation. The study concludes that while OER is a vital tool for advancing educational equity, its success in WV is inextricably linked to broader efforts to dismantle the systemic technological and socio-spatial barriers that marginalize rural learners.