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CSCU OER: Home

Other states have adopted our NOLO program (No/Low cost material course marking); e.g. New Hampshire Our OER blog has been picked up by NEBHE (New England Board of Higher Ed) and CCC OER (The Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources) We are involved in national conversations on OER: CT OER Coordinating Council GoOpen CT K-20 Collaborative (multiple CSCU members) Northeast OER Summit (Executive Steering Committee/Founder) DOERS3 System/State Collaborative SPARC OER Leadership Program (mentor) Creative Commons North America Chapter Open Education Network (system members) CCCOER/ Open Ed Global Network (system members) United Nations Open Pedagogy Fellowship Program (system participants) Eileen Rhodes received national recognition as an LJ Mover & Shaker for her work in OER.
Founded in 2017 across all CSCU institutions Charge: The CSCU OER Advisory Council serves as a critical community champion of the Open Education Resources (OER) movement. The mission of the Council is to utilize talents and strengths within the system to advocate for student accessibility and affordability as well as faculty academic freedom within the system. Membership (seats/terms) Council volunteer representative from each of the 17 campuses Limited Council seats: the council is limited to 20 total seats (minimum of 12 seats) Council should represent key stakeholders such as faculty, librarians, students, academic technology, administration, or IT Meeting frequency: monthly Technology/platform: Teams
2015: Legislation required CSCU to launch an open textbook pilot program for awareness/adoption efforts (HB6117); 2016: Housatonic receives Achieving the Dream grant Only Community College in CT to receive this grant. Develops Z degree in General Studies. Legislation required CSCU to launch a pilot program for awareness/adoption efforts, including a grant program.; 2017: CSCU OER Advisory Council established Representation across all institutions CSCU Mini Grant Program launched.
2019: CT State OER Council established by CT Law (HB7424) Charged to develop a statewide grant program, annual survey of OER usage/impact, and ongoing professional development. Made up of representatives from public and private institutions (11 of 17 members of this council are from CSCU Institutions) Grant Program (currently in its fourth round) Annual CT OER Summit (each spring) Course marking initiative at Community Colleges: NOLO (No cost/Low Cost) Fourth round of mini grants. Ended when state money became available by state legislation.; 2023: CT HB 6771 bill passed. CT state removes funding for CT OER grant program. Change in Council Leadership.; 2024: Responding to system’s proposed Inclusive Access bookstore contract to ensure OER is still prioritized as best option for student savings, accessibility, and academic freedom.
graphic of stack of books to represent over $1 million in student savings cumulatively 2020-2022.
graphic representing grant data.
pia chart representing grant distribution across institution type, with 10 grants going to CSU and 11 to CT State Community College out of 34 total.
OER Positive Impacts: State Survey Conducted by CT OER Council, CSCU data extracted.$ 4,940,910.00 total student savings in 2020-22 Academic year
June 26, 2023: HB6771 - Legislative Support for OER (demonstrating that OER is important to our state legislature). CT OER Coordinating Council to establish statewide standards for reporting OER Council will also coordinate conversations around statewide course-marking (labelling courses that offer zero cost or low cost required materials at the registration stage for students) Create a model policy for OER for the state of Connecticut Change of overhead for CT OER Coordinating Council from Office of Higher Ed to CSCU System

OER Collaborators

CSCU OER Blog

CSCU OER Advisory Council

The CSCU OER Advisory Council utilizes talents and strengths within the CSCU System to advocate for student accessibility and affordability as well as faculty academic freedom. Current council members include:

 

Hayley Battaglia (co-chair)

Serials and Electronic Resources Librarian

Southern Connecticut State University

Yoli Bergstrom-Lynch

Research and Instruction Librarian

CT State Manchester

Amanda Caffary

Interim Director of Educational Technology

CT State Three Rivers

Patrick Carr

Program Manager for Library Consortium Operations

CSCU Library Consortium

Wei Cen

Director of Campus Library Services

CT State Middlesex

Olivia Chiang

Professor of Liberal and Creative Arts

CT State Manchester

Sharon Clapp

Digital Resources Librarian

Central Connecticut State University

Nicole Colter

Assistant Professor of Business & Technologies

CT State Three Rivers

Jennifer R. Croughwell

Student (Political Science and Sociology)

Eastern Connecticut State University

Asantewa Dawson

Assistant Professor of Developmental Math

CT State Housatonic

Adrianne Dunham

Interim Director of Educational Technology & Curricular Innovation

CT State Community College

Edward Friedman

Assistant Professor/PC Medical Assisting

CT State Capital

Ryan Garesio

English Instructor

CT State Northwestern

Yi Guan-Raczkowski

Director of Distance Learning

CT State Middlesex

Sara Harrington (guest)

Associate University Librarian for Academic Engagement

University of Connecticut

Brian Kaufman

Professor of English

CT State Quinebaug Valley

Aura Lippincott

Instructional Designer

Western Connecticut State University

Jillian Maynard (co-chair)

Reference and Instruction Librarian

Central Connecticut State University

Ariela McCaffrey

Reference & Instruction Librarian

CT State Three Rivers

Jeanette Moore

Coordinator, Praxis Study Center

Western Connecticut State University

Kristi Newgarden

Instructional Designer

Charter Oak State College

Jennifer Nohai-Seaman

Associate Professor of Developmental Math

CT State Housatonic

Eileen Rhodes

Director of Library Services

CT State Capital

Brian Sommers

Professor of Geography

Central Connecticut State University

Jenna Stebbins

Reference/Instruction Librarian

CT State Naugatuck Valley

Naomi Toftness

Librarian

CT State Northwestern

Angela Walker

Reference and Instruction Librarian

Eastern Connecticut State University

Loreen Wall

Follett

Alison Wang

Campus Director of Library Services

CT State Norwalk

Bogdan Zamfir

Director of the Center for Educational and Assistive Technology

Southern Connecticut State University

Michael Zych

Media Specialist

CT State Tunxis

    
Accessibility Statement
“Open CSCU” by the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 International License. The individual items included are subject to their respective license provisions.