Program Management
5
Abbey K. Elder and Jeff Gallant
This chapter was adapted from the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program’s Open Education Primer, version 1.0.
Perhaps the most obvious work that an OER program manager does is to support projects (which have a finite end) and programs (which are ongoing) on campus. In this chapter, we will review common OER projects and programs, and provide examples of each. In addition, we have assigned a list of “related needs” to highlight what resources you might need to develop each project or program. Administrative buy-in, for example, can be a powerful tool for supporting and advancing your work. Since this chapter is an overview of many project types, it provides only basic information. For more detail about a single project type, review its corresponding chapter (e.g., see Chapter 6, Building a Grant Program, for more information about grant program development and management).
Professional Development Workshops
Related needs: staff time, staff expertise, funding (optional)
Organizing professional development workshops can be a successful way to engage faculty, raise OER awareness, and build a community of practice around open education and open pedagogy. Professional development workshops may take many forms and cover a wide variety of topics.
- Local Workshops: North Carolina State University has an open education program that offers open pedagogy workshops to educate instructional staff on the use of OER (North Carolina State University, n.d.).
- Consortial Workshops: The Open Education Network (OEN) provides workshops to member institutions to increase open textbook adoptions (Open Education Network 2022). Participating educators complete a full rubric-based review of an open textbook (see “Open Textbook Reviews” below) and institutions may choose to recognize this engagement with small educator stipends. A significant number of faculty who attend OEN workshops subsequently adopt open textbooks for use in their teaching. Another example is the monthly webinars series presented by the Community College Consortium for OER (CCCOER), featuring open education experts from across the United States. These webinars are free to the public and archived on YouTube.
- System-Wide Workshops: As part of its Affordable Learning Georgia program, the University System of Georgia offers locally-relevant training and events for members of its community to learn about OER, including the Featured Speaker Series (University System of Georgia, n.d.)
Professional Development Workshop Guidelines
If you are anticipating creating and running workshops, here are a few guiding principles to keep in mind:
Don’t Forget the Basics
While it may seem unnecessary or repetitive to offer workshops on the basics of OER (e.g., open education, open licensing, and finding/using OER), faculty come to OER at different times. Additionally, new faculty are always being hired. Program managers will be well-served by offering training on fu