OER Digest – January 25, 2024
Aishah Abdullah (SPARC) | Volume 178 | January 25, 2024
THE OER DIGEST
OPEN CONNECTIONS
Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities
APPLY NOW: OER and Beyond is seeking a new Contributing Editor for their blog, which is devoted to open educational resources and open access, and is the official blog of the Journal of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education. The role of contributing blog editor is a one-year appointment for 2024. Learn more and apply by January 31st.
OPPORTUNITY: Library Juice Academy is offering a new Certificate in Open Education for Librarians. The courses in the certificate address the diverse skill sets librarians working with OER need. Learn more.
CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS: The Graduate Center of the City University of New York announced a call for participants for the Summer 2024 Open Education Publishing Institute: Collaborative Knowledge and Social Justice. Learn more and apply here.
JOB POSTING: Empire State University (SUNY's leading online institution) is looking for a Remote OER and Scholarly Communication Librarian. The professional in this role will provide consultative, instructional, and outreach services to promote faculty, student, and staff engagement with Open Educational Resources, Scholarly Publishing, and Open Pedagogy. Learn more and apply here.
JOB POSTING: Madison College Libraries in Madison, WI seeks a library assistant to support the newly formalized Open Education program. The position will have an opportunity to directly support the use of free, online textbooks and other OER used in WTCS and Madison College courses. Learn more and apply here.
STORIES FROM THE FIELD
Quick snapshots of those making change on the ground level, and those impacted
FROM US FEDERAL POLICY: The U.S. Department of Education is seeking to revise federal regulations related to automatic textbook billing as part of its negotiated rulemaking process. The Department’s proposal would eliminate a provision allowing institutions to automatically charge for books and supplies as part of tuition and fees, which would effectively require “inclusive access” programs to switch to an opt-in model, where students are asked for authorization before they are charged. The proposed change is supported by negotiators representing students, veterans, civil rights organizations, and consumer advocates. The negotiated rulemaking process is expected to last multiple months. Read More>>
FROM CALIFORNIA: Yuba College has received state grants and will be using their funds to advance its efforts in reducing textbook costs for students. The grants support the use of open educational resources, starting with a zero-cost textbook initiative in early childhood development and psychology programs. The college aims to expand this to general education courses. Faculty members Talwinder Chetra and Dr. Elena Flacks highlighted the use of low-cost and no-cost materials, with Flacks emphasizing the positive impact on student success. Flacks stated, "It’s a big step toward student success and if we can take the financial strain of buying expensive books off of students, they are more likely to persist and complete." Yuba College is committed to making higher education more equitable by alleviating the financial strain of expensive textbooks. Currently, seven programs utilize or plan to integrate open resource materials, spanning various disciplines. Read More >>
FROM TEXAS: The Alamo Colleges District in San Antonio, TX has secured a $1.96 million grant. The grant supports the Alamo Colleges OER Consortium Project, focusing on the AlamoBOOKS+ initiative. This dual-investment program ensures universal access to instructional materials, including open educational resources, benefiting students. Dr. Mike Flores, Alamo Colleges District Chancellor, highlighted the grant's significance in sustaining AlamoBOOKS+ and fostering innovative professional development opportunities. San Antonio College will lead the activities, involving all five Alamo Colleges. Over three years, 75 faculty will undergo OER professional development and create open content for high-enrollment courses in key subjects. The Open Textbooks program is expected to benefit around 10,000 students, with funding also supporting the development of an OER repository and faculty collaboration across the colleges. Read More >>
HOT OFF THE PRESS
Each edition, we highlight new, openly-licensed resources
Open Touro released their latest open textbook project, Corporate Finance, by Kenneth S. Bigel. This open textbook is a comprehensive guide covering the three fundamental topics in Corporate Finance.
Marian University faculty have released a new, peer-reviewed open textbook through the Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI). Comunidades, by Yuriko Ikeda and Julia C. Baumgardt aims to teach novice-level Spanish students through the incorporation of authentic materials, cultural concepts, and real-life conversations with Spanish speakers in the American Midwest.
The Open Education Initiative at Virginia Tech recently released a new open textbook. Epidemiology, by Charlotte Baker is an openly licensed text designed for medical degree–seeking clinical students without a prior background in public health.
OPEN EDUCATION IN THE NEWS
Great reads to repost and share along with interesting discussions to consider
Open Educational Resources Gain Traction in West Texas | Higher Ed Dive
Recent Survey Shows Students' Concern About Affording Course Materials | The Daily Collegian
Textbooks Without Breaking the Bank | The Northern Iowan
Utilizing Open Educational Resources (OER) for the Revitalization of Indigenous Languages | UNESCO
Concerns Rise Over College Textbook Prices Impacting Students in PA | The Philadelphia Inquirer
Librarians Lead Affordability Conversations | Inside Higher Ed
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