7 Preparing for Implementation
Despite the common end goal of marking open and affordable resource use in the schedule of classes, each institution’s unique environment requires a unique path of implementation. This chapter provides guidance on understanding one’s unique environment as the institution prepares to implement course markings.
Institutional Initiatives
Some institutions utilize a centralized committee or initiative focused on open and affordable course markings to help with the implementation of course markings. These committees are often a part of larger open educational resources (OER) campus initiatives, for which implementing course markings is just one task to accomplish. Committees are sometimes composed of one campus unit or, more commonly, representatives from a variety of campus units. Members of these committees typically include individuals from the faculty, information technology (IT) departments, academic affairs, libraries, student government, and many others. Organizing a committee can assist with communication and coordinated action across autonomous departments, especially since so many different stakeholders are involved in course markings.
If a committee is present on campus, it is recommended that they conduct the environmental scan outlined below. At institutions without a centralized committee, the environmental scan should be conducted by those organizing the implementation of open and affordable course markings.
Environmental Scan
Before developing a plan for implementing course markings, an institution must understand its current resources, processes, and needs. The study of institutional technology, staff, and motivations often takes the form of an environmental scan.
During an environmental scan, an organization reviews its internal and external environment to determine opportunities and challenges. When completing an environmental scan related to course markings specifically, a higher education institution should explore:
- Motivations for course markings
- Current course material reporting processes
- Current student information system (SIS)
- Staff capabilities and capacity
- Current open and affordable awareness and activity
Exploring these avenues could include talking to stakeholders, reviewing relevant policies and procedures, exploring technical capabilities, and understanding and agreeing upon cost of implementation. The sections below provide additional guidance for how to explore each facet.
Developing a detailed environmental scan will allow institutions to outline a clear path for implementation by understanding current capabilities and assets and identifying needs and gaps to be filled. At the end of the process, institutions should use the gathered information to formulate answers to the following questions:
- What will the institution be marking? (e.g., low-cost, no-cost, OER, Z-Degree)
- How will we represent these markings? (e.g., letter, icon)
- Where will these markings be visible? (e.g.