After generating nearly $7 million in student savings over the past three years, faculty and staff at Washtenaw Community College want to expand the college’s Open Educational Resource (OER) program.
A “20 by 2020” goal of creating 20 new OERs by the year 2020 was set during the Winter 2018 semester and met before the end of Fall 2019. Prior to the start of Winter 2020 earlier this month, the college’s next goal was unveiled – “Z Degree by 2023,” which signifies the ability for students to complete an entire associate degree program with zero cost for their textbooks.
“Being an affordable educational option is WCC’s primary mission, so every step we take in that direction is a positive one,” said WCC President Dr. Rose B. Bellanca. “For some of our students, not being required to purchase textbooks can mean the difference between completing a program and dropping out. We want our students to cross that finish line.”
OERs are free, well-vetted substitutes for expensive textbooks and associated course materials.
While a handful of WCC instructors have written their own OERs from scratch, most of the 32 different classes currently offering the free alternatives are the result of WCC faculty adopting or adapting material created, edited and shared by qualified educators from around the world.
A new cohort of five WCC instructors will start working on additional OERs at the end of January: Doug Waters (BMG 230, Principles of Management), Aaron Anderson (ENG 111, Composition I), Elisabeth Thoburn (HUM 101 and 102, Introduction to Humanities), Beth Marshall (CCP 101, Child Development) and Cheryl Byrne (BMG 240, Human Resources Management).
WCC technical and subject matter specialists will lead collaborative sessions aimed at helping the faculty members meet their goal of introducing the new OERs in the Fall 2020 semester.
Former WCC Dean of Learning Resources Victor Liu oversaw the college’s OER program from 2014-16, when the movement was just beginning to catch on across the country. It’s now managed by Joyce Hommel, Executive Director of WCC’s Bailey Library.
Under Hommel’s leadership, annual student savings due to OERs replacing textbooks have risen from $1,790,000 in the 2016-17 academic year to $2,178,531 in 2017-18 to $2,796,650 in 2018-19.
“It’s really a testament to the faculty who have worked really hard to bring OERs to the forefront for our students and who’ve worked on developing, creating and adopting OERs for their courses,” Hommel said.
For more information on the Open Educational Resources program at WCC, visit libguides.wccnet.edu/oer_wcc.
Tags: Affordability, January 2020, Library, OER, On The Record, Open Education Resources, ousearch_News_On The Record