The Landscape of OER at Texas Institutions of Higher Education

1. The Landscape of OER at Texas Institutions of Higher Education Open Education Texas: Policy, Practice, & Potential Dr. Cynthia Jimes Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education Presentation content is licensed under CC BY 4.0 Internationalunless otherwise noted.

2. About The Landscape Study A collaborative effort between DigiTex, THECB, and ISKME to assess the OER programs, policies, and practices already underway across Texas, toward enabling OER as a state-wide strategy for meeting the goals of 60x30TX “San Jacinto College Central Campus Main Building” by WhisperToMe is licensed under CC0.

3. Key Research Questions • How and to what extent are institutions across Texas using OER? • What key issues, challenges, and incentives are affecting OER adoption for institutions? • What supports will enable increased adoption and use of OER? “UTSA Downtown Campus” by bmh4you is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

4. Total Invited Institutions N=158 Total Responding Institutions N=100 (63%) Of which... • 57% were two-year • 32% were four-year public • 11% were four-year private “Old Main at Kilgore College” by Billy Hathorn is licensed under CC BY 3.0.

5. Survey Targeted To OER-Knowledgeable People On Campus Respondents were primarily administrators representing Academic Affairs, Libraries, Online Learning/Ed Tech Offices, or the President, VP, or Provost’s Offices “Houston Community College Central Campus” by WhisperToMe is in Public Domain.

6. Findings

7. There is a Growing Commitment to OER Across Texas 51% of institutions report that they have formal OER policies, or programs and initiatives in place, or are in the process of implementing Another 39% are interested in implementing (N=100) Map denotes the 51 institutions reporting that they have current or planned OER policies, programs, or initiatives.

8. While Affordability And Access Are Key Drivers Of OER Use, Benefits to Teaching And Learning Also Play A Role Of those with current or planned OER programs or policies (n=51), reported goals for OER use include: • Textbook affordability (100%) • Student access to materials (96%) • Student engagement (71%) • Open pedagogy (59%) • Localization (55%) “Austin Community College Fall 2017 Commencement” by Austin Community College is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

9. [In my field], there is tremendous dissatisfaction with commercially-produced textbooks because of their high costs. In addition, most textbooks are pedagogically conservative and do not incorporate the latest in [related] research. Finally, [... ] educators emphasize the use of authentic texts and rich multimedia that is widely available on the Internet (e.g., YouTube videos, music, etc.). As such, [our] textbooks appear increasingly anachronistic. “ ” —Survey Respondent

10. The faculty feel OER materials support and ensure the currency, variety, and versatility of their instructional materials. “ ” —Survey Respondent

11. OER-Based Courses Are Offered At the Majority of Institutions (69%) Although, these courses typically make up less than 10% of these institutions’ overall undergraduate course offerings (N=96) “Larry K. Durham Sports Center” at the University of Texas at El Paso by ElpasoHead is in Public Domain.

12. Several Institutions are Offering or Developing Full Zero Textbook Cost Degree Programs Approximately 20% of institutions—primarily two-year institutions— reported that they are in the process of developing or already offer Z-Degree Programs (N=100) “Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library” at Texas Tech University by Elred is in the Public Domain.

13. Current and Next Phase OER Priorities Center Around Scaling Faculty Use of OER For institutions with current/planned OER programs or policies (n=51), priorities for OER use include: • Supporting faculty use of OER in courses (96%) • Developing internal trainings (84%) • Offering an OER repository or technologies (63%) “University of Incarnate Word” by Nan Palmero is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

14. OER Initiatives Are Funded Primarily Through Internal Budgets Of the 42% of institutions that have allocated funding to OER, funding comes primarily from their internal: • Library budget • Academic Affairs Office budget • Departmental budgets • President’s or Provost’s Office (N=100) “M.D. Anderson Library at the University of Houston” by Katie Haugland Bowen is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

15. Nearly half of Institutions Have a Committee, Office or Role That Oversees OER Work (47%) The offices/committees typically leading OER include: • Library-led committee • Academic Affairs • Dedicated OER Task Force (N=99) “The University of Texas at Austin” by nick.amoscato is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

16. Libraries Play an Important Role in Enabling OER At 79% of institutions, libraries fill one or more of the following roles: • Provide OER as part of library resources • Curate OER to meet local teaching needs • Advocate for OER • Train faculty on OER • Other roles, such as developing OER “how to” guides (N=98) "Willis Library at University of North Texas" by Crystal J Hollis is licensed under CC BY 2.0

17. We have a team of subject librarians led by a subject librarian that is dedicated to the adoption and adaptation of OER on the campus. “ ” —Survey Respondent

18. Students Also Play a Key Role 20% of institutions reported that organized student groups advocate for and enable OER use on their campusesOther roles identified as enablers include: • Institutional leaders • Instructional designers • Teaching and Learning Center staff • Bookstore staff (N=99) “Bell Tower Atop College Hall at Texas A&M University–Kingsville” by Ccchhhrrriiisss is in the Public Domain.

19. There is not a student organization dedicated strictly to OER. However, our SGA (Student Government Association) has championed for OER, holding town halls, providing a template letter for students to share with faculty, and assisting with the Task Force efforts through representation on the committee. “ ” —Survey Respondent

20. Policies and Discourse To Support OER Currently are Limited and Not Standardized • 61% of institutions do not have a written definition of OER (N= 100) • Only one institution has an explicit open licensing policy in place • Only 36% of those implementing course markers (n=59) exclusively use the term OER (many institutions use “free,” “low cost,” and “affordable” terminology) ! “St. Philip’s College” by 2C2KPhotography is licensed CC BY 2.0.

21. Inclusive access is NOT OER. The IA business model replicates the same structures that led to high prices in the first place. “ ” —Survey Respondent

22. We have a unique system whereby books are included in tuition. All students automatically have all books. However, we are always looking for better ways to control these costs and engage students. “ ” —Survey Respondent

23. Data Collection on the Impact of OER Is Limited, Yet Promising Approximately 20% of institutions are collecting data on OER impact. A few of these institutions report increases in student engagement, performance, and persistence through OER Other institutions report that impact information is primarily anecdotal, siloed within specific OER projects, or not gathered yet due to the infancy of their OER programs (N=98) “St. Edward’s University” by Stuart Seeger is licensed under CC BY 2.0

24. I am open to the use of OER to reduce student costs. But it would be helpful if there were data available to help faculty anticipate course quality AND the extent to which OER addresses appropriate course outcomes. “ ” —Survey Respondent

25. When Looking Across Survey Responses by Institution Type, Distinctions Emerge Four-year institutions(n=43) were more likely to allocate funding to OER, have centralized OER leadership in place, and offer incentives for faculty use of OER Two-year institutions (n=57) were more likely to prioritize student engagementas a goal for OER, develop/offer Z-Degrees, and to indicate that their library staff do not play a role in supporting OER “Lago Vista, Northwest Vista College” by Nightryder84 is used under CC BY-SA 3.0, and should be re-shared under the same license.

26. Analysis of Institutions Leading the Way in OER Reveal Best Practices Looking across institutions that have both policies and programs in support of OER (n=9) revealed that they tend to: • Have a centralized OER committee/office • Allocate funding to OER, and prioritize funding for faculty adoption/use of OER • Offer faculty incentives to encourage use of OER • Have library staff who are trained on OER • Collect data on the financial impact of OER “The Alamo at the University of Texas Arlington-Garden” by Razitra Artizar is licensed CC BY 2.0.

27. Potential Next Steps from Survey Results • Create standardized, common language around OER and open licensing within and across institutions; • Develop formal policies in support of OER, including open licensing policies where feasible; • Identify new, external sources of funding for the OER work; • Develop or identify effective OER training and incentive programs for faculty; and • Measure and build an evidence base on the impact of OER.

28. Questions? The full report on survey findings to be uploaded in September to www.thecb.state.tx.us/oerTexas

29. For More Information About the Study: Cynthia Jimes, Ph.D. Director, Research & Learning, ISKME cynthia@iskme.org Judith Sebesta, Ph.D. Executive Director, DHECT judith.sebesta@austincc.edu Jose Rios Assistant Director, Stewardship Office of Development, THECB jose.rios@thecb.state.tx.us Kylah Torre, Ph.D. Program Director-Academic Quality & Workforce, THECB kylah.torre@thecb.state.tx.us