By Tonja Conerly, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, San Jacinto College
Last fall the Houston Chronicle ranked our city as one of the riskiest places to live in the country due to natural disasters but San Jacinto College started to develop a strategy following Hurricane Ike in 2008. Faculty were encouraged to use the college’s learning management system, Blackboard, for storing student assignments that could be completed online if face to face classes could not be held at the college.
Nearly two years ago, San Jacinto College was selected to participate in Achieving the Dream’s OER Degree Initiative grant. Each grantee college would be supported through development of a full OER degree pathway reducing cost barriers for students and measuring the learning outcomes and institutional impacts of the program. Since then, 106 faculty at the college have adopted OER saving the 7100 students who have participated so far thousands of dollars in textbook costs.
Hurricane Harvey and OER
Our city was devastated by Hurricane Harvey last August which brought 40 inches of rain in 4 days and affected our students and faculty emotionally, physically and financially. The start of classes had to be postponed for more than a week and special funds allocated to assist students and faculty some of whom were without food, clothing, or shelter. In a normal semester, it takes our students 1-2 weeks to purchase their textbooks and get with the “groove” but in the OER classes, these students did not experience any “lag time”. Able to start classes on opening day without worrying about purchasing a textbook or receiving their financial aid was a huge advantage for our students. With the growing use of OER, we are assured that our college is making significant progress on providing access and equity to our diverse student population..
Chancellor Dr. Brenda Heyller wrote this for our college publication, “San Jacinto College reached record enrollment in the Fall 2017 semester with 30,509 students enrolled across the College district. This record enrollment is a testament to the work that our faculty and staff do every day in and out of the classroom. The Fall term was tough for all of us with Hurricane Harvey, and I know many of our students and employees are still recovering. However, I am proud of our faculty and staff for persevering to make sure that our students got enrolled and completed the semester.”
Sociological Strain Theory
As a faculty member, I have seen the positives of OER during good and bad times at our college. Normally, before I start a lecture, I define words so that my students can better understand the topic of the lecture. Equity is defined as “the quality of being fair and impartial”. Robert Merton, a sociologist, explained in his “Strain Theory” over 80 years ago (1938) how our educational system is not fair and we are still having this discussion today.
In his theory, he discussed how all members of our society have the goal of financial success which can be reached by two means: hard work and education. He continues to explain that because we do not all have the same access to employment and education, it causes a “Strain” for those unfairly denied the means of access to obtain financial success. In summary, because we don’t all have the access to the “same” type of education e.g. teachers, books, facilities, etc., this brings about inequality to find employment in turn, making it challenging for those trying to gain financial security in our society. OER promotes equality and success in our educational system by allowing students access to the same type of textbook regardless of their financial ability to pay. This additional knowledge will give students an opportunity to gain better employment therefore in turn assisting them with obtaining a better way of life.
Student Success
At San Jacinto College, our mission is to ensure student success. Incorporating OER in our curriculum allows our students to have access to their textbook immediately and creates seamless transitions from hardcopy to online textbooks. We provide technology inside and outside most classrooms and enrich the quality of life in the communities we serve by assisting our students to meet their life goals with little or no “strain”.
Featured image by Twinster Photo from Pixabay