WHCL earns $2M grant to support Open Educational Resources - Julissa Zavala, the Sentinel

 West Hills College Lemoore has earned a $1,999,924 grant from The U.S. Department of Education to further enhance its Open Educational Resource (OER) efforts in partnership with the Equitable Change in Hispanic Serving Institutions Open Educational Resources (CC ECHO) program. “West Hills College Lemoore is thrilled to be one of only four colleges in the nation to receive this prestigious grant,” WHCL President Kristin Clark said. “The almost $2 million award is a testament to WHCL’s commitment to providing high-quality, zero-cost textbooks.”

https://hanfordsentinel.com/news/whcl-earns-2m-grant-to-support-open-educational-resources/article_2f70af01-e50c-5062-8207-3ed0138ce3f6.html

Kean University Designated a First-gen Forward Institution - Kean University

Kean University has been recognized as a First-gen Forward Institution by the Center for First-generation Student Success for its support and advancement of students who are the first in their families to attend college. Kean, which has the lowest tuition and fees in New Jersey, also is a leader in the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) in its courses. OER materials are free to use and help students lower the cost of a college education by saving money on textbooks.

https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/kean-university-designated-first-gen-forward-institution/

Spreading Awareness of Alternative Educational Materials - ANDREA DIAZ, the Bengal

A group of students and faculty from all of Idaho State University campuses have come together and are trying to spread awareness of Open Educational Resources (OER). OER are learning materials that are not under traditional copyright, and are available online for free or at a very low cost. These resources could include free textbooks from publishers such as OpenStax, course materials in OER repositories online or even professors’ own written materials. 

http://isubengal.com/spreading-awareness-of-alternative-educational-materials/

UNESCO Celebrates Open Education Week Highlighting The Implementation Of OER Recommendation Worldwide - India Education Diary

Mr Cable Green, Director of Open Education, Creative Commons stated that the OER Recommendation has the potential to be an important instrument for supporting Member States in achieving SDG4 and universal access to knowledge. The Webinar also highlighted the development of OER-based teacher training materials in Egypt and Spain. The important contribution of these initiatives to support the continuation of learning in the context of the Covid-19 educational challenges was underscored in the presentations.

https://indiaeducationdiary.in/unesco-celebrates-open-education-week-highlighting-the-implementation-of-oer-recommendation-worldwide/

2021-2022 Institute on Open Educational Resources - AAC&U

In July 2021, AAC&U, with expertise and leadership from OpenStax and ISKME, is launching a new Institute on Open Educational Resources (OER).  Utilizing a new institute model, the Institute on OER provides a year-long, online engagement opportunity for teams from campuses or state systems seeking to actualize an ambitious strategy to broaden campus engagement with and adoption of OER. This new model directly engages the OER Institute teams for a full year via virtual events and interactions as participants’ OER implementation and acceleration plans are put into practice.

https://www.aacu.org/events/2021-2022-institute-open-educational-resources

COD Bridges Equity Gap Through Open Educational Resources - College of DuPage

 According to Provost Mark Curtis-Chávez, COD saved students approximately $660,000 during the fall 2020 semester, thanks to the availability of high-quality free or low-cost course materials. "Not only have these initiatives made attending college more affordable, but also students who might have forgone buying an expensive textbook in the past are able to access and utilize OER content, ideally contributing to their academic success," he said. "We want students to know that we are working creatively and innovatively to help them be successful on their educational journey."

https://patch.com/illinois/glenellyn/cod-bridges-equity-gap-through-open-educational-resources

George named CU Open Educational Resources Champion - Mark Belcher, Communique

After taking the effort to create accessible materials to aid in teaching Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering courses, Lynnane George, Ph.D., instructor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, earned a nod as a CU Open Educational Resources (OER) Champion. Although George said the award, which is issued by the CU System to one member of each campus, came as a surprise, she said she’s grateful for the honor.

https://communique.uccs.edu/?p=130941

Cape Breton woman first student to publish book on CBU's open textbook platform - Nicole Sullivan, Chronicle-Herald

 A Cape Breton University student's undergrad thesis aims to inspire a love of bees and promote open access to education textbooks. Published on CBU's Pressbooks site, which was made possible through Council of Atlantic University Libraries funding, Hannah Kosick's book also marks the first time a student's work has been published on the site since professors are the usual authors of textbooks.

https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/provincial/cape-breton-woman-first-student-to-publish-book-on-cbus-open-textbook-platform-560660/

Open Educational Resources look to help students afford textbooks amid an economic crisis - POLINA KASSIR, UMBC Retriever

The stereotype of the poor college student has only gotten worse due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the pandemic forced businesses to close and lay off workers, many students at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County lost their means to pay for things like tuition, meal plans and textbooks. Knowing the increased financial constraints on students by the pandemic, some UMBC professors looked for a means to lessen the burden on students. To do so, they turned to Open Educational Resources.

https://retriever.umbc.edu/2021/03/breaking-down-barriers-of-affordability-and-accessibility-open-educational-resources-are-here-to-stay-at-umbc/

Fostering creation of Open Educational Resources - Library Policy and Advocacy Blog

 In November 2019, UNESCO adopted a recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER). This recommendation, a result of a consensus among 193 Member States, recognises the importance of supporting the development, sharing and use of openly licenced educational materials to improve access to education for all. Libraries, as a driving force in educational issues through their missions of access to information and education, have a role to play in fostering the development of OER and thus in advancing this work.

https://blogs.ifla.org/lpa/2021/03/04/fostering-creation-of-open-education-resources/

Northeastern Junior College awarded Open Educational Resources grant - Callie Jones, Journal Advocate

 The Colorado Commission on Higher Education on Friday approved 27 proposals that provide more than $875,000 in funding for Open Educational Resources (OER) projects throughout the state, including a project at Northeastern Junior College. OER are high-quality teaching, learning and research resources that permit free or repurposed use and are legally available to students for free or very low-cost. NJC will receive a $31,000 grant for “Removing Educational Barriers at Northeastern Junior College to Form a New Northeastern QER Nation.”

https://www.journal-advocate.com/2021/03/05/northeastern-junior-college-awarded-open-educational-resources-grant/

Practitioner Perspectives: The DOERS3 Collaborative on OER in Tenure and Promotion - New England Board of Higher Education

In the following Practitioner Perspective, Andrew McKinney, OER coordinator at the City University of New York (CUNY), and Amanda Coolidge, director of Open Education at BCcampus in British Columbia, Canada, share the development of an adaptable matrix to help faculty include OER (Open Educational Resources) in their tenure and promotion portfolios. 

https://nebhe.org/journal/practitioner-perspectives-the-doers3-collaborative-on-oer-in-tenure-and-promotion/

Hancock College receives grant to lower student textbook costs - Santa Ynez Valley Star

 Under the terms of the grant, Hancock will join with West Hills College Lemoore, the College of Marin and College of the Canyons to form the California Consortium for Equitable Change in Hispanic Serving Institutions Open Education Resources (CC ECHO) program. This partnership of federally designated Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) was awarded a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to improve educational access for diverse and traditionally underserved students by researching, creating and sharing Open Educational Resources (OER) for community college courses.

https://www.santaynezvalleystar.com/hancock-college-receives-grant-to-lower-student-textbook-costs/

Text book costs still an issue for many college students - Renae Skinner, KOAA

 The cost of buying textbooks was already a challenge for college students, but the pandemic appears to be worsening the financial strain. According to the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, 65 percent of students in the U.S. skipped buying a textbook because of the cost in 2020. The previous year, that number was 63 percent. Here locally, that trend is also being seen. On Colorado College's website, it says 80 percent of it's students surveyed didn't bother to buy textbooks because of costs.

https://www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/text-book-costs-still-an-issue-for-many-college-students

Gateway Community College Celebrates National Open Education Week - New Haven Patch

 Open Educational Resources (OER) are defined as a type of educational material freely available for teachers and students to use, adapt, and share. Participants can attend webinars with accomplished speakers from around the country who will discuss Open Educational Resources (OER) as they relate to equity and inclusion, intellectual property, and social justice.

https://patch.com/connecticut/newhaven/gateway-community-college-celebrates-national-open-education-week

A look at Open Educational Resources at Tarleton - Francisco Castro, JTAC

 OER refers to what is known as Open Educational Resources. These resources include textbooks and other learning materials that are openly licensed for use. These resources are accessible to Tarleton faculty for use in their courses, and can be distributed to students without them having to purchase a textbook. “It is similar to when a faculty selects a commercial textbook, one where [students] go to the bookstore and buy it, they can go [onto the OER database] and can select different OER’s that they want to use in the classroom,” Tarleton Libraries’ Scholarly Communication & OER Librarian Katie Pierce Farrier said. “And then, once they have selected that OER, as long as a student has the link and an internet connection, they can access that OER, and they will never lose access to that OER.”

https://jtacnews.com/12517/news/a-look-at-open-educational-resources-at-tarleton/

Chemistry Professor Shares Benefits of Using Open Educational Resources - UC Santa Barbara

 Prof. Gabriel Ménard incorporated an OpenStax textbook into his Chem 25 (Introductory Chemistry) class this fall and many of his students responded positively. “I never had to worry about a student not having the book, which often comes up even in my upper-division courses,” said Ménard. “It’s always awkward to make a book mandatory and have a student tell you they can’t afford it. I don’t want to penalize the student, who is already at a disadvantage.”

https://www.library.ucsb.edu/news/chemistry-professor-shares-benefits-using-open-educational-resources

COL re-launches short course on OER for Online Learning in the Pacific - Community of Learning

 COL has re-launched the short course ‘OER for Online Learning: An Introduction’ for teachers in the Pacific as part of the Pacific Partnership for Open, Distance and Flexible Learning (ODFL) with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), New Zealand.  With many countries still struggling to address the impact of the COIVID-19 pandemic, the course provides teachers with guidelines for working in new ways, using openly licensed online resources. It serves as a useful foundation on which further, more in-depth learning can subsequently be built.

https://www.col.org/news/news/col-re-launches-short-course-oer-online-learning-pacific

Skyline College Celebrates Open Education Week, March 1-5

 Skyline College is pleased to announce our collaboration with Canãda College and the College of San Mateo on several virtual events happening next week in celebration of Open Education and textbook affordability. The OER Leads for each college have curated a series of events that connect with Open Education Week, or #oeweek.

https://patch.com/california/sanbruno/skyline-college-celebrates-open-education-week-march-1-5

Citing Open educational resources (OER) in APA - Jönköping University

 Create a reference to an open educational resource when the material is directly available. If you are directed to another website, you reference that particular website instead using the format for websites.

https://guides.library.ju.se/apa-en/oer

MTSU developing digital textbook program - Murfreesboro Post

Middle Tennessee State University is launching a pilot project to promote widespread faculty use of free or low-cost digital course content that could result in significant savings for students who struggle to afford necessary textbooks.   MTSU secured a one-year, $100,000 grant from the Tennessee Board of Regents to support the adaptation, adoption and creation of OER to assist underrepresented student populations with staying on track toward earning their degree.

https://www.murfreesboropost.com/news/mtsu-developing-digital-textbook-program/article_778867e8-72ff-11eb-b85f-bfe6c1bb1917.html

U of A Faculty Share Experiences Creating Open Educational Resources - University of Arkansas

 Jingxian Wu, professor of electrical engineering, will discuss his experience creating and using OER in his upper-division course, Signals and Systems. Wu created lecture notes, a homework manual and a lab manual. His OER replaced a $120 textbook, and he teaches about 70 students a year. Russell Sharman, assistant professor of practice in communication, teaches a 1000-level film course. He created an open textbook to replace the $90 textbook he previously assigned to the 400-plus students he teaches every semester. He will discuss why he decided to create the textbook, his experiences completing the work and feedback he received from both students in his course and faculty at other institutions. Claretha Hughes, professor of human resources and workforce development, will discuss the creation of her case studies text. Created to supplement the academic journal articles she regularly assigns in the graduate courses she teaches, this collection of mini-cases can be utilized in various HRWD courses.

https://news.uark.edu/articles/56074/u-of-a-faculty-share-experiences-creating-open-educational-resources

Open educational resources for emergency remote teaching a new paradigm? - Maximiliano Marzetti, Menafn

 The Covid-19 pandemic has forced universities and other educational institutions around the world to implement emergency remote teaching (ERT). In other words, courses that had not been originally designed for distance learning have been adapted to be delivered online. Distance learning and ERT require not only having the right technologies in place but also the correct policies. The global pandemic brought to light the importance of having policies tackling the management of intellectual property and personal data online.

https://menafn.com/1101656437/Open-educational-resources-for-emergency-remote-teaching-anewparadigm

MORE AFFORDABLE, MORE ACCESSIBLE - Allison Ebner, U Delaware Daily

Every semester, students face the seemingly inevitable decision: purchase expensive course materials or spend that money on rent and other essentials. When students choose the latter, they start the course without the assigned materials and at an automatic disadvantage. To remove this barrier to learning, many faculty turn to open educational resources (OER), which are openly licensed, online learning materials that are significantly more affordable or even free. More than just a cost saver, OER materials also enhance students’ ease of access and allow faculty to customize their course materials.

https://www.udel.edu/udaily/2021/february/open-educational-resources-oer-faculty-student-success-eric-greska-sheara-williamson/

Savings add up for students under Libraries' grants for free online textbooks - Sara Volmering, Western Michigan

More than 1,400 Western Michigan University students are expected to save a total of nearly $164,000 on the cost of textbooks and course enrollment in 2021 through a grant program for free online materials. In its second round of Open Education Resources (OER) grants, University Libraries awarded $1,000 grants each to 10 faculty and instructors. View the 2020-21 Open Textbook Grant recipients. Open textbooks are high-quality educational resources licensed to allow instructors to use and adapt the content; students access that content for free online. With support from the grant, faculty and instructors replace higher-cost, traditional textbooks with these open textbooks. 

https://wmich.edu/news/2021/02/63257

Chalk Radio Podcast Episode: The Power of OER with Profs. Mary Rowe and Elizabeth Siler - Open Education Week

In this episode, Worcester State University Professor Elizabeth Siler sits down with MIT Professor Mary Rowe to share how she's remixed Mary's open educational resources to teach undergraduates the art of negotiation.

https://www.openeducationweek.org/resources/chalk-radio-podcast-episode-the-power-of-oer-with-profs-mary-rowe-and-elizabeth-siler

MTSU program aims to lower cost of textbooks - Emily Luxen, News Channel 5

 A new program at Middle Tennessee State University aims to counteract the rising cost of textbooks, by saving students money. The university received $100,000 in grant money from the Tennessee Board of Regents at the end of last year to support the use of more Open Educational Resources (OER).

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/mtsu-program-aims-to-lower-cost-of-textbooks

Majority of UMBC Students Respond Positively to OER - Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

 A recent student survey on the use of open educational resources at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County garnered positive responses from the majority of respondents, who reported engaging with the low- or zero-cost digital course materials and homework tools. Nearly 90 percent of respondents said the quality of the OER materials used in their courses was equivalent to or higher than traditional textbooks. Fifty-three percent of respondents said they would recommend an OER course to others, and 45 percent said they would be likely to enroll in another OER course themselves.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2021/02/22/majority-of-umbc-students-respond-positively-to-oer.aspx

Patrick Spoor: Make college textbooks more affordable - Daily Hampshire Gazette

 Us college students around the Five Colleges are all made well aware of the stark price of our education every semester when we have to buy textbooks. Whether they be $80 access codes to let us submit math homework or the newest edition of an economics textbook that costs $200, more than the usual one, our reality is clear. Textbooks are way too expensive.

https://www.gazettenet.com/Letter-Patrick-Spoor-38911381

Some Tennessee college students pay $1,500 for textbooks each year. How MTSU is working to cut costs - Mealand Ragland-Hudgins, Murfreesboro Daily News Journal

MTSU has received a one-year grant in the amount of $100,000 grant from the Tennessee Board of Regents "to support the adaptation, adoption and creation of Open Educational Resources," according to a news release. Known as OER, the materials are designed for teaching and learning and currently exist in the public domain or can be used under a license that allows for widespread use, according to EdWeek.org. The resources can be accessed online with many available for download for free or at a significantly lower cost than a standard textbook.

https://www.dnj.com/story/news/local/schools/mtsu/2021/02/22/mtsu-students-textbooks-lower-costs-open-educational-resources-oer/4513301001/

WSCC instructors opting for more flexible, cost-effective education materials - Kyle Kotecki, News-Advocate

 The use of Open Educational Resources materials has been on the rise West Shore Community College for years. But what is OER and how does it impact students and the college in a beneficial way? OER are teaching, learning and research materials freely available to be used, changed and shared. They give a chance to make learning more affordable and it can be customized by instructors to better meet students' needs.

https://www.manisteenews.com/insider/article/WSCC-instructors-opting-for-more-flexible-15964392.php