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Open Educational Resources (OER): A Guide for Faculty: OER overview

This guide will provide information about OER and how you can use them in your courses.

OCC - OER CONTACTS

  • Melissa Broox is the current OER Coordinator for OCC. Please contact her for help with college processes, getting your textbook listed as free on the online schedule, etc. She has created a course in Canvas with OER information. Enroll here
  • New ZTC funding opportunities are here! If you are interested in converting your class to OER/ZTC, contact Melissa right away.
  • If you would like help finding OER materials or library materials that can be used as OER, please contact - Marco Carrillo Interim OER Librarian 2024-2025.

Z Degree Grant

OCC finished a grant funded by the State that provided $35,000 to plan a Z degree pathway. The intent of a Z degree is to create an opportunity for a student to get a degree or certificate without any textbook costs. We were recently awarded a new grant to pursue implementation of a ZTC Certificate of Achievement in Architectural Design 1. Please contact Melissa Broox for more information about this program. 

SB1359

SB1359 requires all California Community Colleges to indicate on their online course schedule which classes use zero-cost textbooks by Jan. 2018. We are asking all faculty who have zero textbook costs associated with their classes to fill out this form. You can find more information on the California Legislature's website. Please contact Melissa Broox for questions about this process.

AB798 - California College Textbook Affordability Act of 2015

The goal of College Textbook Affordability Act of 2015 (AB 798) is to save college students money by empowering professors and local campuses to adopt high quality, free and open educational resources for courses materials. 

What Are Open Educational Resources?

Open Educational Resources (OER) are free educational resources that are in the public domain or are licensed for use and repurposing by others. Under AB 798, they may also include library resources, as well as other resources that are free of cost and legally available to students. Such materials include:

  • textbooks
  • graphics and photos
  • videos and music
  • workbooks
  • articles
  • courseware 

Pros

  • Lowers cost of course materials for students
  • With adoption of an OER textbook, allows all students to start on their coursework at the same time
  • Allows faculty to remix textbook content to better suit their course content and pedagogy 

Cons

  • Some OER resources are not as high quality as resources from large publishers
  • It can be difficult to find suitable resources
  • Some OER resources are not kept up-to-date 

 

Further Reading:

List of College Adopters - OpenStax