Findings
Finding 3: Institutional Capacity
Reta Chaffee and Jeff Gallant
Programs associated with open education and equity have an inherent demand for the institution to have enough internal resources to improve aspects of the given programs and make substantive changes. Responses to participant exit interviews often included remarks on the importance of having dedicated time and well-informed staff and faculty devoted to both OER and equity work in order for things to improve, and there was some uncertainty surrounding the wording in the Rubric that even in a best-case scenario the participant institutions’ improvement would not be enough to achieve the upper levels (Emerging or Established dimensions) of the Rubric.
Observations
Importance of Institutional OER Point Person
A core marker of base-level institutional capacity was having at least one dedicated open education leader connected to the national/international field. A shared strength in institutional capacity across all teams was the establishment of at least one point person in the institution to advocate and provide support for open education in tandem with support for equity. Institutions differed in size and projects and therefore differed greatly in their scope, with some institutions involving large teams of librarians, designers, administration, and instructional faculty, while others could involve only one or two instructors or librarians. While goals and capacities differed greatly, one common outcome occurred: every participating institution left this pilot grant program with an informed and engaged OER leader in at least one department.
Time and Resources to Achieve Established Levels in the Rubric
Institutions lacked the time and resources to achieve Established levels in the Rubric. Participants often remarked in exit interviews that their participation in the DOERS3 Annual Convening (October 2023) made them feel like they were connected with a larger network of OER advocates and that this networking was crucial to sustain and improve capacity at their institutions. Given that some institutions may only have one or two people involved in OER work over the span of many years, it may be important in future rounds of grants for the Equity Working Group to emphasize cross-participant communications for individuals across institutions in order to sustain this capacity sooner in the project.
The “Established” dimension of the Rubric contains multiple aspirational goals which involve an additional allocation of resources and staff in order to reach this level. Goals involving a significant amount of institutional capacity include:
- A comprehensive, institution-wide plan to increase the availability and implementation of OER with focused attention to targeted student populations
- A communication plan with responsibilities across departments to inform students about their options in OER as well as either no-cost or low-cost courses
- Sustained and ongoing professional development