A panel of members from the Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER) will share how they are adopting OER for degree pathways and certificates at their colleges. The average U.S. college student spends over $1200 each year on textbooks and other course materials in addition to tuition. Many students have reported this is a significant barrier to achieving their educational goals. A 2014 survey by the Student Public Interest Group reported that over half of college students select their courses based on textbook prices and may defer or withdraw from courses due to expensive materials.
Concerned college faculty have been finding and creating Open Educational Resources (OERs) to reduce costs for their students while enhancing pedagogical practices. This OER usage has largely occurred at the course or discipline level, which can help students who take courses from those faculty members. Overall a student’s costs can vary greatly each term as a they progress through their degree pathway depending on the instructional material choices that faculty make.
A new trend called OER Degrees or Zero-Textbook-Cost-Degrees is emerging at community colleges. It guarantees that students will have reduced textbook costs throughout their entire college career. Two colleges in the state of Virginia have already implemented largely OER-based degrees that fit the zero-textbook-cost model and the rest of the Virginia college system is now engaged in similar programs. Northern Virginia Community College implemented their first OER-based degrees in General Studies and Social Sciences two years ago saving students thousands of dollars. Pierce College in Washington State implemented their Pierce Open Pathway in 2015. College of the Canyons is creating a Sociology Transfer degree that has zero-textbook costs and will be piloted in spring 2016. Maricopa Community College is designing their first OER degree pathway for launch next year. Our panel will answer questions about the benefits and challenges of these programs to the various stakeholders. Audience participation will be encouraged.
Moderator is Una Daly, CCCOER Director and panelists include:
- James Glapa-Grossklag, Dean, Educational Technology, Learning Resources and Distance Learning, College of the Canyons, California
- Quill West, Open Education Project Manager, Pierce College District, Washington
- Paul Golisch, CTO and Dean of Information Technology, Paradise Valley College, Arizona
- Preston William Davis, Director of the Extended Learning Institute, Northern Virginia Community College, Virginia
The Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER) was founded in 2007 and now has member colleges in 21 states and provinces. Members collaborate online regularly at monthly webinars and advisory meetings and in-person at conferences on best practices for OER adoption. This cross-institutional sharing of open educational resources, open practices, open policies, and open research provides a powerful OER advocacy network for community colleges in North America.
