The document outlines the findings from the OER Degree Initiative, which aims to achieve sustainable institutional transformation in community colleges through the adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER). It highlights the importance of providing low-cost or zero-cost educational materials to improve student outcomes and reduce financial barriers, while also detailing the challenges and benefits associated with implementing OER degrees. The initiative focuses on collecting data to evaluate the impact of OER on student progress to degree, especially for low-income and minority students.

1. Early findings from the ATD’s OER Degree
Initiative
Zero textbook cost
degrees
Unless otherwise licensed, this presentation is licensed CC BY 4.0.

2. Success is what counts. 2
Richard Sebastian
Director, OER Degree Initiative
Achieving the Dream
Jean Amaral
Assistant Professor/Outreach
Librarian
Borough of Manhattan
Community College

3. Success is what counts. 3
Fit more
tennis balls
per
container
by cutting
them in
half.

4. Success is what counts. 4
June 20, 2017

5. Success is what counts. 5
The mission of Achieving theThe mission of Achieving the
Dream is to lead and support aDream is to lead and support a
national network of communitynational network of community
colleges to achieve sustainablecolleges to achieve sustainable
institutional transformationinstitutional transformation
through sharing knowledge,through sharing knowledge,
innovative solutions and effectiveinnovative solutions and effective
practices and policies leading topractices and policies leading to
improved outcomes for allimproved outcomes for all
students.students.

6. Success is what counts. 6
OER OER
OER OER
OER
OER
OER
The mission of Achieving theThe mission of Achieving the
Dream is to lead and support aDream is to lead and support a
national network of communitynational network of community
colleges to achieve sustainablecolleges to achieve sustainable
institutional transformationinstitutional transformation
through sharing knowledge,through sharing knowledge,
innovative solutions and effectiveinnovative solutions and effective
practices and policies leading topractices and policies leading to
improved outcomes for allimproved outcomes for all
students.students.

7. Success is what counts. 7
Open educational resourcesOpen educational resources
(OER) are(OER) are freelyfreely availableavailable
materials that can bematerials that can be
downloaded, edited anddownloaded, edited and
sharedshared toto better servebetter serve allall
students.students.
Open educational resourcesOpen educational resources
(OER) are(OER) are freelyfreely availableavailable
materials that can bematerials that can be
downloaded, edited anddownloaded, edited and
sharedshared toto better servebetter serve allall
students.students.
CC-BY: https://www.flickr.com/photos/johanl/6966883093

8. Success is what counts. 8
Open licenses

9. Success is what counts. 9
A “textbook” case of price gouging

10. Success is what counts. 10
Textbook pricing in contextTextbook pricing in context

11. Success is what counts. 11
Textbook Pricing in ContextTextbook Pricing in Context

12. Success is what counts. 12
The redesign of a pathway ofThe redesign of a pathway of
existing courses that lead to aexisting courses that lead to a
degree or certificate using OERdegree or certificate using OER
instead of proprietary courseinstead of proprietary course
materials.materials.
What is an OER Degree?

13. Success is what counts. 13
Offer at least one OER degree with at least
one (1) section of every required course and at
least one (1) section of a sufficient number of
general education and other elective courses
Collect and share student data to support
the initiative’s research and evaluation program
Grantee Goals

14. Success is what counts. 14
Share all educational materials developed
through this project with the public
Ensure access by and support for low
income students and students of color
in their OER degree programs
Grantee Goals

15. Success is what counts. 15
Funders &
partners

16. Success is what counts. 16
Timeline

17. Success is what counts. 17
Research & evaluation
Educational outcomes of OER Degrees
Economic outcomes of OER Degrees
Implementation of OER Degrees

18. Success is what counts. 18
18
Research & evaluation
CC-0:https://www.pexels.com/u/louis-bauer-79024/

19. Success is what counts. 19
Most research on OER effectiveness has
focused on course-level outcomes. This
project will focus primarily on student
progress to degree.
Research & Evaluation

20. Success is what counts. 20
Quasi-experimental studies: to estimate the impact of
OER Degrees on key student outcomes
Cost analysis: to measure cost effectiveness and
sustainability
Implementation research: to provide formative
feedback to grantees and broader community
Aggregate pass/completion data: to evaluate the
overall impact of the OER Degree Initiative i.e. how
many OER course sections are offered, how many
students are involved, etc.
Research & Evaluation

21. Success is what counts. 21
Do students who take multiple OER degree
classes make more progress to degree than
similar students who take traditional classes?
Are OER degrees more or less beneficial to
particular subgroups of students? What are the key
mediators of effects on student outcomes?
What are best practices, facilitators, and barriers
associated with implementation of OER degree
programs?
What impacts do OER degrees have on key
stakeholders’ experiences and on institutional
culture?
Research & Evaluation

22. Success is what counts. 22
Outcome Measures
Progress towards degrees will be measured by the following leading
indicators:
Research & Evaluation

23. Success is what counts. 23
23
Who is participating in the
OER Degree Initiative?
CC –BY-NC: https://www.flickr.com/photos/uoeducation/10745091216

24. Success is what counts. 24
Questions?

25. Success is what counts. 25
Across the colleges, OER pathways are planned for 52 degrees or
certificates.
Degrees and certificates

26. Success is what counts. 26
Fall 2016 enrollments

27. Success is what counts. 27

28. Success is what counts. 28

29. Success is what counts. 29
Grassroots Led
Numerous faculty members had independently
taken the initiative to experiment with OER and
convert their courses. These pioneers
established proof of concept on their campuses
and spread the word among their colleagues. In a
few cases where departments achieved strong
consensus around the decision to use OER,
entire gateway courses have been converted to
OER.

30. Success is what counts. 30
Administrator Led
One or more senior administrators were the first
to learn about OER degrees and saw this model
as a strong fit with their institution’s strategic
goals and mission. They took the lead in
recruiting faculty, building support among key
constituents, and shepherding resources to
launch their OER degree initiatives.

31. Success is what counts. 31
Service Unit Led
Librarians or units responsible for innovation in
teaching and learning (e.g. instructional
designers and technologists) were the first to
introduce OER to their campuses. These
proponents began by offering OER workshops to
faculty, attracting a few early adopters and
providing support for their course development.

32. Success is what counts. 32
What Does It Take to Launch
an OER Degree?
CC-0: https://pixabay.com/en/faculty-workshop-979900/

33. Success is what counts. 33
OER courses vs. OER degrees
Developing an OER degree involves a broader set of
institutional investments in course development
and infrastructure than supporting individual faculty-
led OER course conversions.
What Does It Take to Launch an OER
Degree?

34. Success is what counts. 34
Course development
The largest initial investment required to launch a
complete OER degree pathway (typically about 20
courses) is the conversion of courses to OER.
Personnel costs are expected to account for the
largest upfront investment in developing OER
degrees.
What Does It Take to Launch an OER
Degree?

35. Success is what counts. 35
CC 0:https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-and-black-desk-calculator-on-white-graphing-paper-159804/
What About Sustainability?

36. Success is what counts. 36
The sustainability of OER degrees depends on the
extent to which the intervention becomes embedded
in organizational systems and connected to the
broader institutional strategy.
What About Sustainability?

37. Success is what counts. 37
What About Sustainability?

38. Success is what counts. 38
Most instructors see the primary advantage of OER as
alleviating a cost burden for students.
Some participants raised concerns that a case for OER
based on student cost savings alone will not sustain
long-term efforts.
Develop and share understanding of
strategic rationale for OER degree

39. Success is what counts. 39
OER creates pedagogical advantages for faculty such
as having access to more up-to-date course material
rather than textbooks that often become outdated
within a year or two.
Faculty are not yet widely taking advantage of or
seeing the benefits of the adaptability that an open
license provides.
Develop and share understanding of
strategic rationale for OER degree

40. Success is what counts. 40
What About Sustainability?

41. Success is what counts. 41
Instructors who have taken advantage
of supports for course development such as
instructional designers and library services and who
have experience using OER are more likely to report
changes in pedagogy.
Develop and share understanding of
strategic rationale for OER degree

42. Success is what counts. 42
It’s wonderful that I can adapt and remix
other sources and learning objectives. …
And I can also include other strategies that
help students be successful… That’s the
beauty of OER, you can adapt and make the
materials work for your classroom.
– Faculty

43. Success is what counts. 43
Next steps
http://www.mountainhome.af.mil/News/Art/igphoto/2001345294/

44. Success is what counts. 44
CC BY-SA-NC:https://www.flickr.com/photos/truthout/7598618262
Next steps
Fall 2017
Student survey
Grantee site visits
Spring-Fall 2018
Grantee site visits
2nd
Instructor survey
Section, student, and cost data