CCCOER has recently gained three new members: Collin College in Texas, Bevill State Community College in Alabama, and Conestoga College, Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, in Ontario, Canada. We welcome them to CCCOER and are excited to learn more about their open education initiatives and to share our community expertise and knowledge with them.
Collin College is a public community college located in Collin County, Texas with service areas including Collin and Rockwall counties, and the City of The Colony. Collin College offers certificates, associate degrees, and baccalaureate degrees, serving more than 56,000 students per year. They are CCCOER’s 21st member of the Texas statewide consortium.
“At Collin College several faculty members are spearheading the OER movement and significantly increasing the number of OER textbook adoptions. Their institutional priority is to support OER by growing OER adoptions and zero degrees and their goal continues to be to develop zero degrees for students.”
They are also participating in a few OER grants. In fall 2022, they have over 220 sections using OER. This includes 47 different course rubrics and 91 faculty members. Collin College is expecting to see more adoptions added in 2023 as the OER Faculty Development Grants are submitted for final approval. You can read more about their initiatives at their LibGuide OER page. Read more about Collin College.
Bevill State Community College is the first CCCOER member in the state of Alabama, and they are a public, two-year, “open door” institution, committed to providing comprehensive education and educational support services for people in West Central Alabama and beyond. Bevill State is a member of the Alabama Community College System. Bevill State’s four main campuses, and one instructional site, offer university parallel and applied technology educational opportunities to over one-quarter million people in a seven-county area. This service area spans over 4,600 square miles, from the Birmingham city limits to the Mississippi state line.
“Our motivation for joining CCCOER at Open Education Global is simple: we wish to promote and support equitable access to education.” Battling the rising costs of tuition and textbooks, the consequences of a worldwide pandemic, and lacking crucial tools such as computers/laptops and Internet access, our students enter college with monumental obstacles.”
Bevill is committed to students and their success and believes membership in the OEG will fortify our development to create open educational resources (OER) to support students worldwide. Professional development and training for faculty is the next step to establish advocacy and awareness while encouraging the creation of OER materials to share worldwide. Through membership in OEG, Bevill hopes to obtain guidance so they can join others in empowering students everywhere in their quest for life enrichment through education. Read more about Bevill State Community College
Conestoga College, Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, is the first member of CCCOER in Ontario. They were established in 1967, and now serve approximately 23,000 registered students through campuses and training centers in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Stratford, Ingersoll, and Brantford and are a provincial leader in apprenticeship training. Continuing education programs attract approximately 30,000 enrolments each year.
“Conestoga is pleased to join CCCOER at Open Education Global. The opportunities to connect and tap into the global expertise and resources will enrich our open initiatives. We are pleased to contribute to knowledge sharing in a community invested in advancing OER for the benefit of learners around the globe.”
OER creators have been supported through Library Services at Conestoga College for quite some time and increasing institutional support for development is underway. This includes a newly created role of Open Educational Resource consultant and evolving wrap-around support that increases responsiveness for the needs of OER creators. The School of Business (One of ten Academic Schools at Conestoga College) is a PRME signatory, and support for OER development is a meaningful way to meet many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) but particularly SDG #4 Quality Education for All. In addition, faculty in all ten Academic Schools have reported using OER via their course outlines. Read more about Conestoga College.
