OER Digest - August 22, 2019

From Mo Nyamweya, SPARC | Volume 88 | August 22, 2019

THE OER DIGEST

Your bi-weekly newsletter for open education updates, opportunities, and reminders register

MERGER OPPOSITION MOUNTS: Last week, SPARC submitted a detailed filing to the U.S. Department of Justice opposing the proposed merger between Cengage and McGraw-Hill Education. The 49-page document makes the case that the merger would violate federal antitrust guidelines, reduce competition in ways that harm students, and open the door for a new data giant forming in the education sector. Since the release, several news outlets have published articles about the filing. Last edition, the Digest covered how consumer, antitrust, and student organizations are also voicing their concerns regarding the merger, including a letter sent last month by U.S. PIRG on behalf of more than 40 student organizations.NEW OER RESEARCH: BYU researcher John Hilton has published a new study on OER, student efficacy, and user perceptions - a synthesis of research published between 2015 and 2018. Looking at sixteen efficacy and twenty perception studies involving over 120,000 students or faculty, the study’s results suggest that students achieve the same or better learning outcomes when using OER while saving a significant amount of money, and that the majority of faculty and students who’ve used OER had a positive experience and would do so again. K.M. Wagner published an Ed. D. dissertation looking at faculty and student perceptions of OER at Wilmington University, which found that both program chairs and faculty have a favorable view of OER and open textbooks, and that students are open and receptive to alternatives to traditional textbooks.STATEWIDE MEETINGS: Earlier this month, Pennsylvania’s first OER Summit was held at Penn State University in conjunction with Affordable Learning Pennsylvania. The summit’s goal is to help higher education librarians across the state collaborate, discuss challenges and solutions for using open course materials, and ultimately to lower the cost of attending college statewide. Texas also held a statewide convening entitled Open Education Texas: Policy, Practice & Potential to offer new insights into OER policy and practice at the state and national levels. Conference materials are available here, and the results of a statewide landscape analysis will be available soon.AUTHOR LAWSUIT: A class action lawsuit has been filed by authors against Cengage, alleging that the publishing company has underpaid royalties for the sale of digital products, including the company’s Netflix-style all-access subscription Cengage Unlimited. Cengage settled another lawsuit brought by authors last fall. 

OPEN CONNECTIONS

Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities

REGISTER NOW: Early bird registration for the 2019 Open Education Conference (October 29-November 1 in Phoenix, Arizona) ends September 6.JOB OPPORTUNITY: Ohio State University is searching for an Affordable Learning Instructional Consultant to join their Teaching & Learning Department. Applications are due August 25 - click here to read more about the position.JOB OPPORTUNITY: Fort Lewis College in Colorado is searching for an Academic Engagement and Open Education Librarian position - applications are open until the position is filled. Click here to read more.JOB OPPORTUNITY: College of Southern Maryland is searching for an Open Educational Research/Instruction Librarian. Applications are open until the position is filled - click here to read more.FREE WORKSHOP: Glendale Community College is hosting a free, day-long OER workshop on October 29th, the day before the Open Education Conference. #OpenEd19 attendees, especially those from Arizona, are encouraged to attend, but the workshop is open to all. For those who cannot attend in person, make sure to RSVP as a virtual participant.REGISTER NOW: Early bird registration is now available for the 2019 North Carolina OER Conference through August 30th. The conference takes place in Sanford, North Carolina on October 7.OPPORTUNITY: Rebus Community has announced their Textbook Success Program, a professional development program for OER creators and project managers. Those interested in joining their first cohort can schedule a consultation here. 

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

Quick snapshots of those making change on the ground level, and those impacted

FROM KANSAS: Butler Community College’s English department authored new textbooks for their English Composition I and II courses, offered for the first time during the 2018-19 school year. Each student in Comp I and II saved about $200 as a result of the switch, adding up to about half a million dollars in savings. “By definition, college students [anywhere] are broke. That’s not unique to Butler. So the department decided to do what we can to put more money back into their pockets,” said department chair Jim Buchhorn. Read more >>FROM ILLINOIS: College of DuPage is one of nine institutions chosen by OpenStax for the 2019-2020 OpenStax Institutional Partnership Program, which encourages the use of OER. OpenStax will provide the college with consulting, strategic planning services, training, and support as well as access to their full catalog of open textbooks. "The use of open educational resources and other innovative tools that community colleges can employ will help drive student success and reduce their financial burden," said DuPage Provost Mark Curtis-Chávez. Read more >>FROM NEW JERSEY: Faculty at Rowan University are reworking their courses to bring down the cost of course materials as part of their Textbook Alternative Program, launched in 2018. They estimate that over 10,000 students have saved money as a result of the grant program, leading to over $1.2 million is savings. "Overarching goals of the program are one, to raise awareness of the rising course of college materials. The second goal would be to collaborate with faculty and departments to drive down costs. The third would be to provide students with access to materials on their first day," said Assistant VP Sean Hendricks. Read more >> 

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Each edition, we’ll highlight an interesting, new, openly-licensed resource

The Check, Please! Starter Course shows learners how to fact and source check. The entire online curriculum is two and a half to three hours and is suitable homework for the first week of a college-level module on disinformation or online information literacy, or the first few weeks of a course if assigned with other discipline focused homework. 

WEIGH IN

Interesting Discussions and Strategic Reads to Repost or Share

Great to Share >>

• Advocacy Group to DOJ: Cengage-McGraw Hill Merger Could Create a ‘Platform Monopoly’ in Education | EdSurge
• Boston-based Cengage to merge with rival publisher McGraw-Hill | Boston Globe

Interesting to Consider >>

• The Radical Transformation of the Textbook | Wired
• How Administrators Can Support Adoption of Open Educational Resources on Campus | Higher Ed Connects

Have suggestions for the next edition? Let us know at oerdigest@gmail.com, or tweet us @OERdigest.

The OER Digest is a public newsletter distributed to a broad group of stakeholders across the higher education community. You can join the open Google Group or check out the distribution list here.