Linda Bruslind estimated that less than half of the students in her General Microbiology course were buying and using the required publisher’s textbook. To put it another way, the majority of her MB 302 students did not have access to vital learning resource in large part because it was cost prohibitive. (A new copy of the latest publisher’s edition runs nearly $250.) She decided to fix the problem.
K.C. Walsh, a senior instructor of physics at Oregon State University, long ago realized how burdensome the financial situation is for students. In sports terms, the textbook publishing companies are winning, and it’s a blowout. Financially, the students continually come up short. That’s why Walsh decided to change the game by embracing the open educational resource (OER) movement and giving his students access to no-cost and low-cost course materials.
When Oregon State Extended Campus developed a unit focused on online educational resources (OER) in 2013, it turned to Dianna Fisher. Dianna already had more than a decade of experience working with university faculty, mostly as the director of online course development and training for OSU Ecampus. She was appointed director of Open Oregon State in early 2014 and has played a vital role in making college more affordable for students and giving educators broader access to the tools they need.
Oregon State University is increasing its efforts to make college more affordable, particularly through the use of free, open access textbooks and other essential course materials. The latest example came when the university was awarded a $30,000 grant by the State of Oregon to adapt a biology textbook that will be freely accessible to OSU students and learners worldwide. It is one of 16 open textbooks in use or in production at Oregon State. Read more about the grant and the work being done by Open Oregon State.
