This group developed a community of practice around open educational resources (OERs). It identified and shared best practices for the production, review, dissemination, and/or preservation of open educational resources (OERs), especially addressing regional and consortial needs; expanded on collaborative work with Shared Content & Technical Services (SCTS) Team; and developed and promoted resources to improve awareness and shared understanding of OER.

Documentation

Summative Report – May 30, 2023 (PDF)

Opportunities for Partnerships in Support of Open Education, June 2018 (PDF)

Events

Consortial and Allied Open Education Network (OEN) Membership Event (Captioned) – April 26, 2022

Alliance Council Forum: Open Education Network Membership (presented by Alliance Board of Directors, September 2021)

OER Speaker Series Recordings and Slides (Presented by OER Standing Group, Spring 2021)

Background and Context

In FY 2016, an OER Exploration Working Group formed under the Content Creation and Dissemination (CCD) Team to identify OER projects across the Alliance and roles the Alliance might play in open education. The working group completed a survey of 29/39 Alliance institutions to provide an understanding of existing OER programs. Survey results were distributed in a report.

In FY 2017, an OER Working Group (also under CCD) followed up on this previous work by conducting a wider environmental scan to identify potential Alliance role(s) in open education. This group also presented its recommendations in a report. The topmost recommendation–pursuit of advocacy and professional development around OERs–was approved by the Board of Directors and Council and resulted in creation of this OER Standing Group.

The work of the standing group is relevant to the Open Strategies & Digital Content (OSDC) Team because open education leverages creation/reuse of local resources to support students across the Alliance in successfully completing their programs in a cost-effective manner. Development, stewardship and dissemination of unique and local content is crucial to this work.

In 2021-2023, the OER Standing Group supported the Alliance’s pilot membership in the Open Education Network. The piloted ended in 2023 and the Alliance chose to end OEN membership. In spring 2023, the OER Standing Group completed their charge and ended their work