News & Media

OER Advancement Projects to Increase Awareness and Use of OER at Louisiana Institutions

The Open Educational Resources (OER) Advancement Projects, an opportunity organized by LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network and the Louisiana Board of Regents with funding from the Higher Education Initiatives Fund, kicked off this month with ten Louisiana academic libraries participating. These projects will focus on crafting and pursuing strategies reflective of their campus needs to increase awareness and use of OER at their institution. This program is one of the strategies underway in response to Act 128 of the 2023 Regular Session, which tasked the Board of Regents with implementing programs to provide OER that can be used to improve student outcomes.

Work on the ten projects kicked off on February 6^th when the cohort of project leaders met to share the activities they are planning. Each project leader will meet twice with LOUIS’ Affordable Learning Administrator, Emily Frank, across the spring. Emily will provide technical support to the project leaders as they work to complete a project plan by April 2024.

The implementation of OER materials in place of a commercial textbook has been found to be an effective high-impact practice, either raising student performance or keeping it the same while reducing the cost of course materials to students. “This program allows LOUIS member libraries work toward equitable access to materials, lower materials costs for students, and contribute to their retention, progression, and graduation with strategies that reflect their local priorities and needs,” says Emily. “Given this ability to localize to the campus, we anticipate a variety of activities coming out of this funding, including the development of professional learning activities, outreach focused on student engagement, creation of new OER materials, and adaptation of existing OER to result in improved access and savings for students.”

The funded project at Louisiana Delta Community College involves new adoption of OER textbooks. Coordinated by Amelia Brister, Director of Library and Learning Resources, LDCC is also planning an OER Champion Spotlight Series as well as virtual and in-person professional development lunch and learn sessions.

The ten institutions that are participating in the OER Advancement Projects are Central Louisiana Technical Community College, Louisiana Delta Community College, Louisiana State University, Louisiana State University Shreveport, Nicholls State University, SOWELA Technical Community College, Southern University and A&M College, Southern University at New Orleans, University of New Orleans, and South Louisiana Community College.

The OER Advancements Projects initiative is one strategy to help fulfill the goal of the Board of Regents’ Master Plan, which is for 60 percent of all working age adults to hold a degree or high value credential by 2030. The OER Advancement Projects help by making pathways to credentials attainable by making them affordable.

For more information about the OER Advancements Projects, please contact Emily Frank at Emily.Frank@laregents.edu.