A Tale of Two Campuses: Open Educational Resources in Florida and California Academic Institutions

A panel presentation presented at the 2016 Charleston Conference in Charleston, South Carolina. Open Educational Resources (OER) provide a high-quality and low-cost alternative to traditional textbooks. The University of Central Florida (UCF) and the University of San Diego (USD) have been engaged in a multitude of efforts related to textbook affordability. This presentation will discuss the textbook affordability climate at the national, state (Florida and California), and local (UCF and USD). The University of Central Florida constituents will highlight an unique partnership with three different units across campus. Macro and micro ventures and lessons learned will be shared ranging from student perceptions of open education resources to influencing the next university bookstore contract, in addition to specific case studies with faculty teaching online and face-to-face courses. Librarians at the University of San Diego will introduce the Copley Library OER initiative and an evaluation of the first year pilot experience. The speakers will also discuss plans to improve the program including collaborating with past participants, connecting with university stakeholders, and requesting more financial support. Attendees will come away with numerous approaches to reduce textbook/course material cost to students. They will also be able to identify and collaborate with strategic partners as they consider textbook affordability efforts at their institutions