Open Educational Resources
Working towards a more accessible and affordable Penn State education through free, openly-resourced course materials.Student cost savings since 2018 courtesy of OER program in collaboration with University Libraries
Open assessment questions adopted since March 2020
Uncovering how to replace high-cost course materials
A partnership between TLT and Penn State University Libraries, along with funding from Penn State Executive President and Provost Nick Jones’s office, has created ACT@PSU–a program that supports instructors who want to teach courses through open education resources. This affordable course transformation program kicked off in June 2018 and faculty from the first cohort will teach their redesigned courses beginning in Fall 2018. As ACT@PSU continues in future years it will look to attract instructors from high-enrollment courses so that their use of Open Educational Resources (OER) creates savings that reach as many students as possible.
OERs have the power reduce the overall expenses of higher education, and for this reason we promote and support faculty involvement in the development of this major initiative. OERs provide educational materials that are available to the University community with little to no cost. This effort allows faculty and staff to legally and freely copy, use, adapt and re-share them within the University community.
Penn State’s OER initiative is a direct outgrowth of President Eric Barron’s imperative to address access and affordability. Penn State’s mission statement includes a critically important sentence: “As Pennsylvania’s land-grant university, we provide unparalleled access to education and public service to support the citizens of the Commonwealth and beyond.” Additionally, one of the plan’s foundations includes Enabling Access to Education with “We will place pursuing and completing a Penn State education within reasonable reach for students and their families.”
Want to redesign your course using OERs?
We can help identify the resources needed to make it happen, and how to meet your pedagogical needs. Get in touch!Explore Other Professional Development Opportunities
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