Advocacy

Resources Advocacy

How does one advocate for OER locally? What are some ways to promote OER use among your colleagues? This page will be an ever-growing collection of advocacy ideas.
What approaches to advocacy would you like to share with your colleagues? 
Here are some possibilities for getting started with OER Advocacy on your campus.  Ideas can be modified based on college culture, support, funding, personnel, and goals.

Share Your Advocacy Ideas Here

 

Starting an OER Workgroup/Committee/Task Force

It can start as small as one or two folks who are interested.

People who are often helpful to have include:

  • Librarians
  • Accessibility experts, Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS) staff, or other personnel who are involved with providing services to students with accessibility challenges
  • Student services representatives
  • Students
  • Administrators
  • Instructional Faculty
  • Bookstore representative
  • Financial aid representative
  • Instructional operations (or whoever places the OER/zero textbook cost (ZTC) sections into the online class schedule for designation)
  • Classified staff
  • Food and housing insecurity personnel
  • Whoever may be interested in the cause

Create an OER Web Presence

You may find a website from another college that you like and ask for permission to copy, edit, or remix - or you may choose to create your own.

Websites often include information about how and where to search for OER, information for who to contact on your campus for assistance, financial or release time incentives for faculty adopting or adapting OER if offered, outline of process for how OER/ZTC identification/approval takes place and the process of how that information is communicated to instructional operations to be included for designation in the class schedule (SB 1359).  The website might also include resources for learning more about OER/ZTC and/or local professional development information opportunities.  In the future, we will be able to provide information including which colleges and disciplines are using which OER for which courses and then that information can be shared locally.  Information may also be included regarding local policies on curriculum, course outline, articulation, accessibility, peer review in regards to textbooks in general.

Apply to be an OpenStax Institutional Partner

This one year program (no financial support but no cost to apply or be a member) gives colleges the opportunity to learn about tactics other colleges have used to increase OER adoptions on their campuses and try some of these tactics out on their own with the support of OpenStax and approximately 10 other colleges and universities across the country.  About a dozen CCCs have gone through this Institutional Partnership.

OpenStax Institutional Partner Links to an external site.

 

Advocate for Positions or Release/Reassigned Time

Many colleges are finding valuable ROI (cost savings on textbooks for students) from giving release or reassigned time to a faculty member for coordinating OER/ZTC efforts. Other colleges are utilizing students for advocacy.

From the Open Education Rising Podcast (Houston Community College Scaling Up OER): Links to an external site.

Student Advocacy: From BCCampus OER Student Toolkit: Links to an external site.

Become a member of the Community College Consortium for OER (CCCOER)

Member Application Links to an external site.

Benefits:

  • Stay Informed: CCCOER and OEC member communications and special webinars keep you informed about tools, emerging trends and funding opportunities for open education.
  • Community: Be part of the largest community of practice in open education, focused on the needs and realities of community and technical colleges.  
  • Expert Feedback: Monthly webinars and our community email list deliver expert perspective on time-critical issues in open education.
  • Collaboration: Participate in advocacy events to promote open education locally, nationally and globally.
  • Shared Visibility: Showcase your open educational projects to a national and global audience..
  • Global perspective: The Open Education Consortium worldwide network allows you ready participation in the global open education movement.

 

Invite a speaker to come to your college to talk about OER or schedule a viewing time and place for an introductory and/or discipline specific OER/ZTC Webinar

 

There are many folks who would likely be interested and available to speak on your campus and there are webinars available to continue to spread information.