Greeley, CO, United States
Official Website
• @UNC_Colorado
Type: Public 4-Year, Research University
Annual Enrollment: 12,050
Founded in 1889, the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public doctoral research university committed to the success of its 13,000 students, with more than 100 undergraduate programs and 120 graduate programs.
The UNC Open Educational Resources (OER) Committee provides leadership for our campus OER efforts. The committee formed in 2018, and recent work includes:
• Working with university leadership to include open educational resources as a strategy in UNC strategic plans.
• Applying for a 2019-20 Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) OER grant with the goal of building on the previous grant and impacting larger numbers of UNC students via high enrollment courses
• Partnering with the bookstore manager, registrar’s office, and information management & technology to market and notate low/no cost materials to students including on the UNC bookstore website and course catalog
• Providing professional development for UNC faculty members via Open Textbook Network and other means
• Publicizing results of the OER grant work and other successes to the UNC campus community and the CDHE
The OER Committee includes representatives from the University Libraries, Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, the Bookstore, student body, faculty, Disability Resource Center, and Information, Management, and Technology.
Campus Entities Most Active in Efforts Advancing OER:
Library Departments Active in Efforts Advancing OER:
Academic Subjects With Greatest OER Traction:
Mechanisms to Support OER Included in the Following:
OER Staff Location:
The #textbookbroke campaign at UNC was part of a wider movement to gather students' perspectives and experiences with textbook costs associated with higher education. UNC students were asked to estimate how much they had spent on textbooks for the semester, as well as what their major was and what they would spend money on if they did not have to buy textbooks. Student answers illuminated the textbook affordability crisis, with many students commenting that they would pay bills, buy groceries, or even find childcare if they did not have to spend so much on their textbooks.
Program Type:
Duration: 08/2018 - Present
Program Webpage: https://libguides.unco.edu/OEW/textbookbroke
Scope: Affordable course content, including cost-free course content and OER
Primary OER Strategy: OER Awareness
Unit Housing the Program:
Source of Program Funding:
Incentives Offered by the Program:
The UNC OER Grant Program provides funding to UNC faculty interested in adopting, adapting, or creating OER for one of their courses. The intent of the grants is to encourage faculty to replace commercial textbooks and other course materials with OER to help reduce the cost of course materials for students and to design their course to align with principles of open pedagogy.
Program Type:
Duration: 02/2018 - Present
Program Webpage: https://libguides.unco.edu/OERcommittee/grants
Scope: OER (open course content)
Primary OER Strategy: OER Adoption
Secondary OER Strategies: OER Adaptation, OER Pedagogy, OER Publication
Unit Housing the Program:
Program Partners:
Source of Program Funding:
Total Program Funding to Date: $ 80,000
Total Student Savings to Date: $ 152,700
Incentives Offered by the Program:
Conditions: Recipients are required to openly license and freely share resources created or adapted
Total amount of incentive grants awarded to date: $ 80,000
Total number of incentive grants awarded to date: 23
Typical amount of each grant: $ 3,300
Links:
Assessment Instrument
The 20/21 UNC OER Committee Charge highlights the Committee's plan for the academic year to expand the use of open educational resources at UNC. The 20/21 charge includes working with university leadership to ensure OER are integrated into planning for student success, applying for the 20/21 Colorado Department of Higher Education OER grant, raising awareness of OER on campus, partnering with other campus departments to market and notate low/no cost materials for students on course schedules, providing professional development for faculty, and sharing recommendations for sustaining the OER initiative beyond the 20/21 academic year.
Duration: 08/2020 - 05/2021
Policy Type: Plan
Policy Scope: Affordable course content, including cost-free course content and OER
Governance Level: Program
Links:
Policy Text
The UNC All Things Open Campus Discussions focus on casual conversations about open educational resources on campus. The discussions often feature guest speakers or panels consisting of UNC faculty, with all campus members welcome to join in the discussions to raise awareness for OER.
Date: March 19, 2019
Event Type:
Event themes:
Scope: Cost-free course content, including OER
Links:
Event Summary
In this presentation, Dr. Robin DeRosa will explore how OER can be a part of an approach to teaching that focuses on student agency, connected learning, and structural equity. By highlighting how commons-oriented approaches to knowledge-sharing can transform pedagogy, Robin will offer a vision for higher education that maximizes academic freedom while it engenders collaboration, opens access to higher education, and engages learners in exciting and vibrant ways.
Presenter: Dr. Robin DeRosa is the director of the Open Learning & Teaching Collaborative at Plymouth State University, where she was originally an English professor, and later chair of the Interdisciplinary Studies program. Robin is a national advocate for public higher education, and works with colleges and universities on designing institutional initiatives and structures centered on learners and their needs.
Date: March 4, 2021
Event Type:
Event themes:
Scope: OER (open course content)
Links:
Recording
Much of the motivation for the use of OER is based in an attempt to save students money. While this is certainly the case, a more convincing argument to get instructors to discard their traditional textbooks is that OER offers pedagogical benefits beyond pricing. In this talk we will consider some ways in which OER can be of higher quality than commercial course materials, drawing from lessons learned in writing textbooks and other ways UNC's School of Mathematical Sciences has made the use of OER a priority.
Date: March 4, 2021
Event Type:
Event themes:
Scope: OER (open course content)
Links:
Recording
Join UNC faculty OER grantees from a variety of disciplines as they share their experiences making the change to using open educational resources. Panelists will share their motivation to incorporate OER, how their pedagogical approaches changed, and challenges and successes along the way.
Panelists: Deborah Agar, Dr. Margaret Berg, Jeffrey Gilis, Dr. David Greene, Dr. Heeseung Lee, and Dr. Jittapim Yamprai.
This panel is co-sponsored by UNC's Open Educational Resources Committee and CETL.
Date: March 2, 2021
Event Type:
Event themes:
Scope: OER (open course content)
Links:
Recording
Dr. Emily Ragan, winner of the Colorado 2020 Outstanding Z Professor Award, will introduce participants to the textbook affordability crisis, open licensing options that support open textbooks and other open educational resources, and advantages of open resources.
Presenter: Dr. Emily Ragan, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and OER Coordinator at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Dr. Ragan received the 2020 Outstanding Z Professor Award from Governor Jared Polis for her work in increasing access, equity and affordability for college students through expanding the use of OER.
UNC's OER Committee and Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL) are co-sponsors of this webinar. This webinar was made possible by a grant from the Colorado Department of Higher Education.
Date: March 2, 2021
Event Type:
Event themes:
Scope: OER (open course content)
Links:
Recording
Join the University of Northern Colorado Libraries in an interview with Dr. Bailie Peterson where she discusses her use of OER in her classes, benefits and drawbacks of OER, and what she would like to see from OER in the future.
Dr. Bailie Peterson is an Assistant Professor in Philosophy and a 2019 OER Grant Program awardee at the University of Northern Colorado.
Resource Permissions:
CC BY
Resource Citation:
University of Northern Colorado Libraries. (2021). Open Conversations with Dr. Bailie Peterson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjGflXu6FSk&t=1s&ab_channel=UNCLibraries.
The UNC OER Committee Blog features posts and perspectives from committee members focused on the use and value of OER in higher education.
This guide is designed to introduce the best known online libraries and collections of OER resources, zero texbook courses and degree programs that have been developed, as well as the organizations that fund and otherwise support OER initiatives.
Join the University of Northern Colorado Libraries in an interview with Dr. Chelsie Romulo discussing the benefits, drawbacks, and Dr. Romulo's experience of OER in her classes.
Dr. Chelsie Romulo is an Assistant Professor in Geography, GIS, and Sustainability and a 2019 OER Grant Program awardee at the University of Northern Colorado.
Resource Permissions:
CC BY
Resource Citation:
University of Northern Colorado Libraries. (2021). Open Conversations with Dr. Chelsie Romulo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYgPi5SFudg&t=15s&ab_channel=UNCLibraries.
UNC surveyed facult about their awareness and usage of OER in classrooms, as well as identified barriers to OER usage. Faculty were also asked about what resources would be useful in learning more about OER as well as potentially adopting or adapting OER for their courses.
The UNC OER Committee Report to Provost highlights the work the committee has done related to OER on campus during the academic year including notable achievements such as the course marking project progress, grants from the Colorado Department of Higher Education, and recipients of the ONC OER Grant program. This report also includes a discussion on OER publicity and outreach on campus.
The UNC OER Committee Report to Provost highlights the work the committee has done related to OER on campus during the academic year including conference presentations, workshops and webinars, and campus discussions. The report also covers the UNC OER Grant program recipients and recommendations for adopting more OER on campus.
UNC students were surveyed about their textbook costs, as well as how costs have impacted their academic success. Students also provided information on how they try to save money when buying textbooks (renting, buying used).
Jen Mayer
Associate Professor and Head of Library Research Services
@Ms_jenmayer