Vision
Open SLCC envisions a future where students at SLCC and beyond have access to high-quality open educational resources and where faculty and practitioners will receive the support to adopt, adapt, create, and share them.
Statement of Purpose
Open SLCC is a cross-institutional team that advocates for student success, inclusivity, and educational equity by supporting faculty and practitioners in logistics, scholarship, transformational open practices, and efforts to adopt, adapt, and develop open educational resources.
An Open Champion is an individual who has made a significant contribution in supporting OER work at SLCC and often in the broader open community. Open SLCC would like to congratulate all our faculty, administration, and staff champions. Here we highlight the efforts of our current Open Champions. We also recognize and thank our Past Open Champions.
“I love OER because my students have free access to course materials from Day One. But OER isn’t just about reducing costs; it also allows us to design innovative resources that are aligned and targeted to specific courses and learning objectives. I teach all my courses using OER and am committed to keeping course materials aligned, equitable, flexible, and free.”
Dr. Melissa Hardy, Associate Professor, Biology
Full-Time Faculty Open Champion
"OER is important because it allows me to provide creativity to the classroom. You can find resources that speak to your audience when working with OER. As a result, the learning can become very personalized and individualized. OER is a sharing community that believes in freely giving learning materials to all its learners."
Dr. Deidre Tyler, Professor, Sociology
Full-Time Faculty Open Champion
"OER impacts student learning in many positive ways. It improves access to content that is current, relevant, and relatable, enhancing our students’ educational experience. It lowers barriers that students face in achieving their goals. It enables open pedagogical practices to engage students as content co-creators. OER empowers the use and creation of materials that better serve our students."
Jen Hughes, New Media & Educational Initiatives Librarian, Library Services
Staff Open Champion
“Julia Ellis is being highlighted for her efforts in OER advocacy, creation, project management, and teaching within the Criminal Justice program. She has enjoyed connecting and presenting with others nationally through the OER Consortium. As a first-generation student and single mother, she knows OER would have reduced the financial burden and time it took to complete her degrees. Her personal experiences and love for the community strengthen her engagement in justice, equity, diversity, and inclusivity efforts. Her student’s feedback around the positive impact of OER offerings has intensified her support to continue this work.”
Julia Ellis, Program Manager, Public Safety, Criminal Justice
Adjunct Faculty Open Champion
Frequently Asked Questions
Cost Savings
Since the introduction of the OER to the college in 2014, there has been an estimated $21 million in cost savings for more than 243,000 SLCC students (as of Spring 2022). The rising cost of textbooks can pose a barrier becoming an unnecessary financial worry for SLCC students. OER is one way to help with making higher education more affordable and accessible. For further information, check out our OER By The #s.
Academic Freedom
Creative Commons licenses allow faculty to adapt and create OER customized to their specific teaching style and the needs of their students. It also allows faculty to easily update their resources to reflect up-to-date information.
Students
Interested in taking a course with no-cost/low-cost textbook alternatives? Check out our instructions for locating courses!
Faculty
If you're interested in exploring OER as an option for your course(s) - please schedule a consultation with the Open SLCC office. We can guide you through the initial stages of OER exploration and connect you with additional support to make the process easier. Or visit the faculty pages on this website for more information.