Massachusetts: A Collaborative & Unique Approach to Building Open Educational Resources Policy & Practices

The Open Educational Resources initiative in Massachusetts is the result of three potent forces. First, are Commissioner Carlos Santiago’s three goals for the public higher education system in Massachusetts: access and affordability, closing achievement gaps, and increasing completion. Second, has been increasing interest by the Legislature resulting in the filing of several bills over the last few years addressing the trend of rising textbook costs. Finally, the Student Advisory Council (SAC) presented a resolution to the Board of Higher Education (BHE) on May 8, 2018 to explore and identify opportunities for broader implementation of OER in Massachusetts. Over the past decade, several public higher education institutions had already been innovating with OER. These efforts received an assist from Department of Higher Education (DHE) utilizing Performance Incentive Fund (PIF) grants over the last two years. However, it became clear that a more coordinated effort was required. Thus, through the creation of the OER Working Group, a unique and collaborative policymaking approach is being employed by the DHE. The OER Working Group is comprised of representatives from the three segments and external stakeholders. We believe this grassroots approach will result in the development and recommendation of more useful and cost-effective OER policies and practices. Thus, this session will inform the audience about the early PIF OER grant initiatives, the work of the SAC, and highlight the unique approach the OER Working Group is undertaking to develop and recommend thoughtful, deliberate, and inclusive policies to the BHE that will encourage greater OER utilization.