What is OER?

image of the state of Kansas with "OER" in the middle.Open educational resources (OER) “are teaching, learning and research materials in any medium – digital or otherwise – that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions.”1 OER includes built in permission to retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute the material.

In an effort to exhibit the need for OER at institutions across the state of Kansas, the Kansas Board of Regents Student Advisory Committee conducted a survey in 2019 to demonstrate the burden of textbook costs on students at Regent Institutions. They found that 48 percent of 6,474 regent institutions’ students indicated they did not purchase or rent a required textbook in the spring semester. Seventeen percent said they did not purchase or rent three or more required textbooks.2 By not purchasing textbooks, students could be at a disadvantage, which could hinder their success in a course. With open/alternative educational resources, all students get equal and immediate access to educational materials.3

Link to Kansas LibreTexts Commons.

 

Why OER?

Hear Fort Hays State University Student Body President, Mark Faber give an address to the February 2022 Kansas OER Summit attendees about how OER impacts students. Click here to listen to his speech

Newsletters

Issue 1: January 2024

 

Upcoming Trainings/Events

 

General Education System-Wide Transfer Course OER Recommendations 


College Algebra - February 26, 2024 at 3:30-4pm - Recording
Public Speaking - February 27, 2024 at 11-11:30am - Recording
General Psychology - February 27, 2024 at 2:30-3pm - Recording
English Composition - February 28, 2024 at 11-11:30am - Recording
Elementary Statistics - February 28, 2024 at 2-2:30pm - Recording


2024 SPRING OER Discipline Roundtables (visit the OER Roundtables webpage)
 


Using OER in Communications Courses   Wednesday, April 17, 2024   2:30 pm (click the title to register)

This webinar is intended for those interested in using Open Educational Resources in Communication courses.  In this session, you’ll engage with our panelists as they share their OER journeys and participate in a roundtable discussion. Participants are encouraged to share their OER experiences, concerns, successes, and questions.

    • Lead:  Dr. Alicia Mason Collins, Ph.D. (Professor Pittsburg State University Department of Communication)
    • Panelists: Ashley Page (Fort Scott Community College, Communications Instructor) and Tonya Neises (Labette Community College, Communication Professor)

 


PREVIOUS Trainings/Events

OER Legislative Showcase - Thursday, February 22, 2024,  8:30-3:30pm  Capitol Rotunda

Come learn all about OER and see our institutions in action in the capitol rotunda! Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you'd like to represent your institution and participate!


LibreTexts Training: Tuesday, February 20, 2024,  2:00-4:00pm  

Delmar Larsen, founder and executive director of LibreTexts, will provide training on LibreTexts and the associated LibreVerse. LibreTexts is an Open Educational Resource (OER) platform. The Kansas Board of Regents System was the first state system to join the LibreNet, a consortium of members supporting LibreTexts. System members can create, adopt, and adapt OER on the platform and use the associated technology. If you don’t already have an account, it would be good to set one up at https://one.libretexts.org/

LibreTexts Training Recording


OER Beyond the Basics: Faculty Workshops 

Finding, Evaluating & Adopting OER  Thursday, Feb 23, 2023  2:00 pm

Finding the right OER for your courses can be daunting and this workshop will review the best places to begin your search for OER textbooks, assignments, lectures and other materials. We will also cover how to evaluate OER to make sure it's a good fit for your students and institution. Since planning time is precious, participants will be encouraged to practice searching and evaluating during the workshop to make the best use of their time.  

Finding Evaluating & Adopting OER Workshop Recording

Presentation Slides

Adapting OER   Tuesday, March 7, 2023  2:00 pm

You picked out an OER or two that you want to use in class. They need some changes or need to be combined. Now what? This workshop will lead you through the following steps to adapting your OERs. We will start by determining the licensing of your OERs and then look at where to edit and provide access to your adapted OER. Finally, we will look at correctly attributing the original OERs and how to create your own Creative Commons license for your new textbook. Throughout the workshop, guiding questions will help you make decisions efficiently and effectively. 

Adapting OER Workshop Recording

Presentation Slides & Presentation Sources

Accessibility & OER  Thursday, April 6, 2023  2:00 pm

Now that you have found an OER to use in your class and adapted it to your needs, how can you further adapt it to make it accessible for all.  This workshop will cover the basics of the why and how of accessibility and universal design.  Then, we will dive deeper into enabling user agency to enhance the user experience (UX).  Some topics include accessibility tools, scalability, anchored content, and keyboard navigation. 

Accessibility & OER Workshop Recording

Presentation Slides

 

Statewide OER Steering Committee

To encourage OER use across public institutions in the state of Kansas, the OER Steering Committee was developed and is made up of representatives across Kansas public institutions who are interested in OER on their campuses. The group convenes once a month to discuss statewide initiatives, including collaborative events, grant applications, system participation in regional and national OER organizations, OER platforms, and best practices. If your institution does not have a representative on the OER Steering Committee and you would like to add someone, email Mistie Knox, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Why 100

OER & Estimating Student Savings

Developed in January 2022, the OER Steering Committee recommendation outlines a formula for estimating savings resulting from OER use in KBOR System institutions.  While it's difficult, if not impossible to accurately capture savings due to a variety of factors, the Steering Committee members believe that Kansas System institutions benefit from a common method to estimate savings, when appropriate and possible.  This paper outlines our recommendations, sites other research and policies around estimating cost savings, and explains the rationale behind developing this formula.

  OER report

2022 Open Education Initiatives in Kansas Higher Education Report (pdf)

January 2021, the OER Steering Committee sent out the first survey to gather information on how Open Education Resources (OER) are currently being implemented across the public higher education institutions in Kansas.  The survey was repeated in the spring of 2022. This is the second report summarizing the OER initiatives across our system.  For more information about this survey, report or KBOR system initiatives click here

OER action plan document front page The Kansas Board of Regents Open Educational (OER) Steering Committee Action Plan (pdf) was developed as a result of the 2019 student-focused survey conducted by the Kansas Board of Regents Student Advisory Committee and collaborative discussion among members of the OER Steering Committee. The plan explains what OER are as well as the statewide priorities.
Textbook Affordability Survey cover page The Textbook Affordability Survey 2019 Results & Report (pdf) was conducted by the 2018-2019 Student Advisory Committee to provide concrete data behind the burden of textbook costs that students attending our universities are facing.

2023-24 Members of the Open Educational Resources Steering Committee

Universities Name Title Email  
Emporia State University Melissa Emo Digital Scholarship & OER Librarian This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Fort Hays State University Claire Nickerson Learning Technologies & OER Librarian This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 23-24 Co-chair
Kansas State University Brian Lindshield Professor This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Pittsburg State University Jennifer Pursely Instructional Designer This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
University of Kansas Heather Mac Bean Open Education Librarian This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
University of Kansas Medical Center Kristin Sederstrom Electronic Resources Librarian This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
 
Wichita State University Doug English Associate Professor & Chair, Dept. of Chemistry This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   
Washburn University Amanda Luke Instructional Librarian aThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   
Community Colleges Name Title Email  
Allen Community College Virginia Shaffer Library Director This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Barton Community College Lee Miller Director of Innovation & Compliance for the Center for Academic Innovation & Excellence This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   
Butler Community College Mindy Trenary Assistant Professor of English This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Cloud County Community College Brandon Galm Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   
Cowley Community College David Hays Faculty, Computer Science & Math This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Dodge City Community College Mike Webster Director of Instructional/Informational Technology This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Dodge City Community College Nick Clohecy Instructor of English This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   
Fort Scott Community College Susie Arvidson Director of Library Services This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Garden City Community College Veronica Goosey Assistant Professor of English This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  23-24 Co-chair
Highland Community College Hannah Owen Instructional Support & Design This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Hutchinson Community College Emily Hemmerling Coordinator of Library Services This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Independence Community College Nathan Chaplin Biology Professor This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   
Johnson County Community College Barry Bailey Digital Projects Librarian and Chair of OER Taskforce This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Kansas City Kansas Community College Susan Stuart Director of Online Education This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Labette Community College Tim Miller Professor of History This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Pratt Community College Frank Stahl Director, Learning Resource Center This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Seward County Community College Deedee Flax Director of Distance Learning This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   
Technical Colleges Name Title Email  
Flint Hills Technical College Leann Garcia Division Chair of General Education This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
Manhattan Area Technical College Darren Ortega Teaching & Learning Resource Coordinator This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
WSU Campus of Applied Sciences & Technology Rob Gibson Dean, ITAS & Director, Instructional Design This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   

 

System Memberships & Partnerships

Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC)

Home 

The Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) has promoted and facilitated the implementation of Open Educational Resources (OER) at a regional level since 2018 when twelve OER state action teams were created. From these initiatives, the Kansas OER Steering Committee began, and they continue to support our work through grant funding, research, regional raining and sponsorship of our Kansas OER Summit.

Open Education Network (OEN)

OEN Badge Member

In 2020, the Kansas Board of Regents joined the Open Education Network (OEN) as a consortial member. 

A diverse community of higher education institutions, the Open Education Network promotes access, affordability, and student success through the use of open textbooks.

 

Driving OER Sustainability for Student Success (DOERS3)

The Kansas Board of Regents is part of the Driving OER Sustainability for Student Success (DOERS3) Collaborative. Open to public higher education systems and statewide/provincewide organizations, DOERS3 and its members support large-scale OER initiatives and are committed to advancing innovation in OER. Member organizations aim to achieve equity and student success at scale by realizing the promise of high-quality, accessible, and sustainable OER implementations.

 

References

1 Kansas Board of Regents Student Advisory Committee Textbook Affordability Survey: 2019 Results & Report
2 UNESCO
3 https://opencontent.org/definition/

OER logo credit: Barton Community College