1. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
OER and Public Policy:
Overview &
Opportunities
Nicole Allen
OER Program Director, SPARC
Open Education Conference
November 7, 2013 Park City, UT
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

2. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
SPARC®, the Scholarly Publishing and
Academic Resources Coalition, is an
international alliance of academic and research
libraries working to create a more open system of
scholarly communication.
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

3. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
VOCABULARY
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

4. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Policy
Rules, protocols or principles to guide
decision-making and action
• Laws
• Regulations
• Priorities
• Codes
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

5. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Forum
The system in which a policy operates
• Federal
• State
Open Educational Resources Program
• Institutional
• Corporate
nicole@sparc.arl.org

6. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Decision Maker
Entity that creates or implements a policy
• Legislators
• President
• Board of
Open Educational Resources Program
directors
nicole@sparc.arl.org

7. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Stakeholders
Entities that are affected by a policy
•
•
•
Faculty
Students
Colleges
Open Educational Resources Program
•
•
Publishers
Bookstores
nicole@sparc.arl.org

8. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
TYPES OF OER
POLICY
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

9. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Resource Allocation
Devote funding or other resources to
the creation or adoption of OER
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

10. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Poland K-12 Textbooks
(2012)
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

11. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Dept. of Labor TAACCCT
(2011)
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

12. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
CA Open Textbook Bills
(2012)
Open source textbook bill passes state
Legislature
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

13. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Licensing
Inject open licensing into existing
systems that produce educational
materials
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

14. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
WA Grant Policy (2010)
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

15. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
CA Grant Policy (2013)
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

16. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Inducement
Acknowledge, support, and call for
activities that foster engagement with
OER
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

17. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
FHDA Policy (2004)
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

18. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
ND Resolutions (2013)
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

19. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
UMN Grad Student
Resolution
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

20. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Remove Barriers
Neutralize policies that interfere with
the creation or adoption of OER
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

21. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Policy Barriers
• Contracts designating the campus bookstore
as the sole provider of digital textbooks
• Procurement laws meant to prevent bribery
that prohibit the use of “free” resources
• Others?
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

22. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Policy Barriers
(added during discussion)
• Delays in students receiving financial aid to
purchase textbooks
• Tenure and promotion policies often do not
recognize OER
• Lack of policies in areas like licensing that
lead to confusion
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

23. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Useful Resource:
http://wiki.creativecommons.or
g/OER_Policy_Registry
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

24. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
OER ADVOCACY
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

25. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
1. Present OER as a
solution
OER policy is not an end in itself. It
must be a solution to a problem.
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

26. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Problems OER Solves
• Textbook affordability
• Improved teaching & learning
• Economy/career preparedness
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

27. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
2. Work with
stakeholders
Know who the policy will affect and
reach out in advance. Policies are
more successful with broad support.
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

28. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Key Stakeholders
•
•
•
•
•
Faculty (as Authors and Teachers)
Students
Colleges
Bookstores (often influence colleges)
Publishers
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

29. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
3. Keep things simple
Remember, most people don’t know
what OER or open licenses are.
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

30. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Sample Message
OER are free, online academic materials – textbooks,
research articles, study guides, videos, and the like –
that are openly licensed for everyone to use. Students
can download and print OER, and professors can tailor
and share them. With OER, students have access to
the high-quality materials they need to complete their
college education – at a fraction of the cost of
traditional textbooks and educational materials.
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

31. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Jargon to Avoid
• OER: say “open educational resources”
• CCBY: say a “the most open license” and
explain what Creative Commons is
• Derivative: use “adaptation” or “custom
version,” or provide more context
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

32. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
OPPORTUNITIES
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

33. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
More federal/state
grants conditioned on
CCBY license
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

34. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
States pooling
resources and
collaborating to
develop more open
textbooks
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

35. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Institutional licensing
policies and/or
reporting requirements
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

36. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Policy in the “Other”
Opens
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

37. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
FASTR Act (introduced
2013)
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

38. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
White House Directive
(2013)
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org

39. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
www.sparc.arl.org
Nicole Allen
nicole@sparc.arl.org
@txtbks
Sign up for more info:
http://sparc.arl.org/issues/o
er/join
Open Educational Resources Program
nicole@sparc.arl.org