College of DuPage bridges equity gap through Open Educational Resources and gains $660,000 in savings
Eager to expand access to educational opportunities, College of DuPage has embraced the Open Access Scholarship movement in higher education.
COD's new Open Educational Resources (OER) program prioritizes day-one access to course materials for all students, particularly those who are taking general education courses.
OER are freely and publicly accessible text and other media assets for any student to use, remix and redistribute under certain licenses to aid in learning and researching purposes.
The creation of COD's OER program stems from a desire to close the opportunity gap and to provide equitable education for all, said President Dr. Brian Caputo.
"When high-quality, no-cost resources are accessible to everyone-independent of one's socioeconomic status, it brings all students that much closer to reaching similar standards of education," said Dr. Caputo.
According to Provost Mark Curtis-Chavez, COD saved students approximately $660,000 during the fall 2020 semester, thanks to the availability of high-quality free or low-cost course materials.
"Not only have these initiatives made attending college more affordable, but also students who might have forgone buying an expensive textbook in the past are able to access and utilize OER content, ideally contributing to their academic success," he said. "We want students to know that we are working creatively and innovatively to help them be successful on their educational journey."
Access to OER is just one example of how COD is bridging the equity gap for students in regard to access to technology and resources - a gap made ever wider by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two months into the fall 2020 term, COD's Office of Research & Analytics surveyed a random sample of students to better gauge how to assist them. Findings showed that while many students felt educational resources, textbooks and technology were easily accessible, Chavez said there is always room for improvement.
"With the help of faculty and Library staff we working to expand access to no-cost resources for students to assure no student is left behind, especially with the new challenges brought on by the pandemic," he said.
With spring semester underway, administration, faculty and staff continue to bridge the equity gap not only through OER but also through other library resources, including no-cost individual and on-campus hot-spots, and laptop loaners for students in need. In addition, no-cost academic support is available virtually through the Learning Commons.
"COD faculty and staff are always thinking innovatively to help students succeed from day one," said COD Reference Librarian Denise Cote. "I continue to be motivated by my fellow faculty who work tirelessly to help students be successful and are dedicated to the constant improvement of teaching and learning at the College."
With COD's OER program proving successful, Cote said the long-term goal is to develop OER materials to fully support all of COD's degree programs with the goal of improving educational outcomes, an initiative called the zero-textbook-costs program.
"While we are making great progress implementing OER in general education classes, we are starting to explore expanding to other academic areas," she said. "We hear again and again from faculty utilizing OER in their courses that they are thrilled to be able to select, revise and share instructional materials freely and legally. And feedback from students about these materials is not only that they're grateful for the price barrier to have been removed but also that they feel the course materials have been designed specifically for them."