A $165, 534.84 grant from the U.S. Department of Education was awarded to Cochise College to facilitate Open Educational Resources (OER). Dr. Wendy Ashby, the instructional designer at the college’s Faculty Support Center, said, “This is a great opportunity to make higher education more accessible and affordable for students.”
OER are teaching, learning, research and classroom materials that are free for students to access and use with few or no restrictions. “Generally speaking, this means working with Creative Commons licensing,” said Ashby. OER can include open textbooks, library resources, online articles and videos published with a license that makes them free to use, distribute or adapt. “Furthermore, its copyright-free licensing ensures that textbooks, lab manuals and other resources can be provided to students at no or low cost,” continued Ashby.
The cost of textbooks has been rising and is a barrier for students to afford college. With funding from the consortium grant, students at Arizona’s nine rural community colleges can complete a vocational certification and/or transfer an associate degree with little to no textbook costs. “Students in targeted courses can collectively save about $2,000,000 per year,” added Dr. Ashby.
Studies show that lowering attendance costs increases degree persistence and graduation rates. Affordable content also allows all students to have access to materials. As a student from a neighboring college noted, “With OER, it allowed me to stay on track with my education plan, and I am going to graduate!”
For more information about open educational resources and the Faculty Support Center at Cochise College, visit www.cochise.edu.