Open Education Week Held March 7-11

Open Education Week was launched in 2012 by Open Education Global as a collaborative, community-built open forum. Every year OE Week raises awareness and highlights innovative open education successes worldwide. OE Week provides practitioners, educators, and students with an opportunity to build a greater understanding of open educational practices and be inspired by the wonderful work being developed by the community around the world.

The cost of textbooks can be a significant burden for many students. In fact, an estimated 66% of students skip buying course materials at some point during their college career. To change this narrative, the Colorado Community College System is expanding the use of Open Educational Resources (OERs) so students can access free books and other course materials. Otero College has been utilizing OERs for the last few years, and since fall of 2021, these resources have saved students $24,376 collectively.

In 2021, Otero College’s grant proposal for an Open Educational Resources Grant was selected for an award of $30,000 for 2020-2021. This grant was funded by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE). Since fall of 2021, 12 faculty members have participated in the OER grant project and have collectively developed OERs for 34 courses.

For questions about Open Education practices at Otero, reach out to Chelsea Herasingh at 719-384-6976 or email Chelsea.Herasingh@otero.edu.