Meeting Date: 
February 1, 2023
Date: 
02/01/2023 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Location: 
Zoom Meeting
Agenda: 
  1. OER Learning Resources – Stefanie Buck
  1. Policy Discussion
    • Course materials and non-curricular course barriers
    • Non-sponsored WIC/DPO2 courses
Minutes: 

Voting members present: Aidas Banaitis, Geoffrey Barstow, Daniel Faltesek, Kelsey Emard, Colin Johnson, Michelle McAllaster, Lori McGraw, Rene Reitsma, Kari-Lyn Sakuma, Kaplan Yalcin
Voting members absent: Jack Istok, Matthew Kennedy, Randy Rosenberger, Justin St. Germain
Ex-officio members present: Academic Programs & Assessment – Heath Henry; Difference, Power & Discrimination – Nana Osei-Kofi; Ecampus – Karen Watte; WIC – Sarah Perrault
Guests: Pat Ball, Stefanie Buck, John Edwards, McKenzie Huber, Michael Jefferis, Caryn Stoess

 

Open Education Resources (OER) Learning Resources – Stefanie Buck

  • Textbook costs have risen dramatically.
  • 51% of students are unable to meet expenses for tuition and textbooks.
  • It is recommended that students save $600 annually for textbooks. These are out of pockets costs.
  • Many students don’t purchase their textbooks. At OSU, 61% of students do not purchase their textbooks due to the cost.
    • 45% take fewer classes
    • 37% do not register for a course
    • 18% drop a course
    • 14% withdraw from a course
    • Students will share textbooks, use an old edition, in-library online copies, rent or illegally downloaded copies rather than purchase the textbook.
  • Under-represented students are more likely to take fewer classes and more likely to drop a course as a result of the costs of the textbooks.
  • HB2871 – Designation of courses as having low- or no-cost course materials. It also requires that institutions track the number of low- and no-cost courses (under $40) and make this information available to students.
  • HB2213 – measurable goals, communicating available and no-cost sections, informing faculty about available low- and no-cost course materials, academic freedom statement, mitigation plan for bookstore.
  • HB2919 – prominently display estimated costs of all required course materials for no less than 75% of the total number of for-credit courses.
    • Currently at 58.6% of faculty reporting their course costs.
  • OER – teaching, learning or research materials that are in the public domain or released with intellectual property licenses that facilitate the free use, adaptation and distribution of resources.
    • OER unit provides faculty support in selecting, adapting, adopting or authoring open access course materials.
    • OER improves end-of-course grades and decrease DFW rates for all students.
  • How can faculty best find OERs online?
    • Stefanie and the OER unit can assist with helping faculty locate resources.
  • Some disciplines have more options for OERs than others.
  • Oregon State University affirms the AAUP’s statement of academic freedom. Faculty, including instructors, have the right to teach and address controversial issues relevant to the subject matter of the course they teach and educational activities they conduct. As part of academic freedom, faculty have the right to choose instructional materials and content, subject to faculty and academic units’ oversight of curriculum and instructional materials, university policy, state law, and federal law.
  • Can the Baccalaureate Core Committee (BCC) ask that proposals for new Bacc Core courses include an affordability plan?
    • Are there statements we can make that we encourage OER throughout our future faculty support development trainings and on our website?
  • Suggested approaches
    • One:
      • Make a statement
      • Put it lots of places including CIM
      • Regan helps
      • Pedagogical Support & Development
      • We ask them about it during review and make them do a form about it then
    • Two:
      • BCC has a statement that encourages OER adoption as it relates to Gen Ed - we put on the website and in the CIM system if possible
      • Encourage OERs through PSD group
      • Make the check on OER use through the category assessment process

Policy Discussion

  • Course materials and non-curricular course barriers
    • The committee will discuss this policy during the next meeting.
  • Non-sponsored WIC/DPO2 courses
    • The committee will discuss this policy during the next meeting.