By UNIVERSITY RELATIONS<\/b><\/p>\n
Delivering an affordable and accessible education has long been a goal for Fort Hays State University, and the Open Education Mini-Conference for faculty, staff and students, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, is another step toward reaching that goal.<\/p>\n
The conference will be in the Memorial Union\u2019s Stouffer Lounge.<\/p>\n
Staff from the Open Textbook Network will provide assistance for the mini-conference, which includes a workshop for partners who provide instructional support on open textbooks and open educational resources (OERs) to FHSU faculty.<\/p>\n
A separate workshop will be conducted for FHSU students.<\/p>\n
Two faculty workshops will increase awareness of the free and openly licensed textbooks that could be adopted as course materials to save students from the rising costs of traditional textbooks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cost of textbooks is rising at a rate of four times inflation,\u201d said Claire Nickerson, learning initiatives and open educational resources librarian for the university\u2019s Forsyth Library. \u201cThe average undergraduate student budgets between $1,220-$1,420 each year for textbooks and supplies, which often results in students delaying the purchase of textbooks until they\u2019ve received financial aid or never purchasing the required textbook at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mini-conference is intended to raise awareness of OERs and of the negative impact high textbook costs can have on student success and retention.<\/p>\n
As an OTN member, Fort Hays State is part of a consortium of colleges and universities working to advance the use of open textbooks and practices on their campuses. The network maintains a library of free, peer-reviewed, and openly licensed textbooks called the Open Textbook Library, making open educational resources easier to find and adopt for use in the classroom.<\/p>\n
Openly licensed textbooks, said Nickerson, are high-quality texts that can be freely copied and sometimes adapted depending on the license, which is not usually allowed under copyright law.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe FHSU OER Committee has been exploring options to make open textbooks more easily discoverable,\u201d said Nickerson.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis membership will help with that goal and provide a great professional development opportunity for our faculty,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
FHSU\u2019s membership in OTN and support of open educational resources can provide faculty with textbooks and course materials that can be customized for their courses while helping alleviate the cost burden for students.<\/p>\n
FHSU\u2019s participation in the Open Textbook Network is supported by funding from donors Richard and Dolores Fischli, the FHSU Provost\u2019s office, Forsyth Library and the Department of Teaching Innovation and Learning Technologies.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdopting open textbooks provides faculty with a tool to make a university education more affordable while maintaining high standards for quality education,\u201d said Deborah Ludwig, dean of Forsyth Library.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough OTN, faculty can adopt peer-reviewed textbooks to replace high-cost commercial texts,\u201d she said<\/p>\n
Dr. Andrew Feldstein, assistant provost of teaching innovation and learning technologies, has long been an advocate of open educational resources and has published research on the positive effects of OERs on student success.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile cost is an important aspect of OERs, quality content is essential. OTN textbooks meet that standard,\u201d he said. \u201cIn fact, OTN requires that all of their textbooks are either affiliated with a higher education institution, scholarly society, or professional organization, or are in use at multiple higher education institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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