Wide Open Voices: Experiences of OER Course Developers was acknowledged by the University of West Georgia’s Distance Learning Administration

As the cost of higher education rises, more colleges are looking to Open Educational Resources (OER) to combat expensive textbooks. With access to free, publicly available course material, students can save more money each year, reducing one of the greatest financial barriers to higher education. For the last several years, The Colorado Community College System (CCCS) has been on the cutting edge of initiating and implementing a range of OER courses in person and through CCCOnline. Now, CCCS staff members are being recognized for their research on the topic.

While there have been significant studies and observations on the impact of OER on the cost of education and student experience, administrators at CCCOnline wanted to better understand the impact of OER on faculty and subject matter experts who develop online OER courses. Their research, Wide Open Voices: Experiences of OER Course Developers, won the University of West Georgia’s Distance Learning Administration 2019 Best Paper Award.

This June, Dr. Tina Parscal, Executive Director of CCCOnline and Brittany Dudek, CCCOnline Library Coordinator, presented the research and accepted the award in Georgia. “We are grateful the distance learning administration community was interested in our work,” said Parscal. “We hope our experiences in developing OER courses will inspire others to champion these vital resources for students moving forward.”

Developing OER Courses and the Opportunities They Present

The paper, which is currently available in the summer Issue of the Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, outlines the experiences of course developers who contributed to a large-scale OER initiative, including training, knowledge, effort and satisfaction in course development support services. It also touches on some of the actionable items CCCOnline is pursuing to make the experience better for course designers, such as increased compensations for professionals in these roles.

CCCS and CCCOnline will continue to develop new OER opportunities across the state, including Z-Degrees, or Zero Textbook Degrees, which allow students to take courses utilizing only low or no-cost OER without ever purchasing textbooks. By eliminating textbooks, OER not only decreases costs for students, but provides immediate access to course materials, diversifying the populations served by CCCS.

“CCCS is committed to improving college access and affordability for all Coloradans,” said CCCS Chancellor Joe Garcia. “The growing use of OER for both online and face-to-face learning improves our ability to ensure academic success in the long run.”

CCCOnline’s research findings will be presented on August 8, 2019, at the Colorado Learning and Teaching with Technology (COLTT) Conference at the University of Colorado Boulder. To learn more about OER at CCCS, visit cccs.edu.