The primary purpose of the Open Educational Resources (OER) Grant Project is to increase equity in access to quality, no/low-cost educational materials. The Project is designed to increase success rates and improve educational outcomes for traditionally underserved students, such as, but not limited to, students of color, first-generation college students, and economically disadvantaged students.
As part of the Tennessee Board of Regents’ strategic plan to increase equity in access and student success, the offices of academic affairs and organizational effectiveness have awarded grants totaling $650,000.00 to 28 teams comprising 122 faculty, librarians, and instructional designers from 13 colleges and universities to create free Open Educational Resources (OER) for their courses. The Cycle 3 OER Grant RFP generated 59 proposals, which is more than double the number received last year. OER materials developed during the first two years of the program have already saved students $6,666,032.48 on commercially published textbooks and instructional materials. This year, TBR is collaborating with Achieving the Dream and SRI Education to study the effect Open Educational Practices (OEP) have on student learning outcomes. 12 of the 28 grant teams will be participating in the study and will attend the OEP Summer Institute at Chattanooga State Community College in July.
The TBR Community Colleges are part of the Achieving the Dream Network, a national reform movement for student success, created in 2004 to help community colleges close academic achievement gaps for low-income and minority students and assist all students achieve their goals of academic success and economic opportunity.
TN Open Education is designed to address some of the same barriers to access, quality, and success that defines the ATD mission. Modeled after the Achieving the Dream (ATD) OER Degree Initiative, TBR is pursuing an zero-textbook-cost degree (z-degree), which coupled with TN Promise and TN Reconnect, would greatly reduce the cost of attendance at TBR colleges. TN Open Education is not only about affordability, but prioritizes faculty/student engagement and pedagogical innovation.
The soaring cost of college textbooks is affecting students throughout the nation, to the point where some forgo purchasing books, despite the fact their grades could be in jeopardy.” US news.
Creative Commons (CC) licensing. There are a range of options for the type of use that CC licenses allow:
Attribution (BY)
You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
Non-commercial (NC)
The material cannot be used for commercial purposes.
Share Alike (SA)
If you remix, transform or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
No Derivative Works (ND)
If you remix, transform or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
Note: works licensed with the ND restriction are not considered OER.
Source: https://www.cccoer.org/learn/open-licensing/