Muskegon Community College is one of only 10 schools nationally chosen to participate in the 2019-2020 OpenStax Institutional Partnership Program to encourage the use of free, peer-reviewed textbooks on campus.
An initiative of Rice University and supported by philanthropic foundations, OpenStax provides free, high quality, peer-reviewed textbooks and affordable educational technology designed to improve learning outcomes.
MCC was chosen to participate in this strategic partnership with OpenStax after a rigorous application process that included demonstrating a willingness to drive adoption of open educational resources (OER). Institutional partners will receive individualized consulting from OpenStax and join a cohort of schools advocating widespread use of OER at their schools.
The 2019-2020 cohort consists of 10 institutions: Austin Community College District, College of DuPage, McHenry County College, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Millersville University, Muskegon Community College, North Carolina State University, Portland State University and Prairie View A&M University.
Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning and research materials in any medium – digital or otherwise – that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions.
“Open educational resources save students money and gives them access to materials wherever, whenever, and however they want,” said Lisa Anderson, an MCC librarian and archivist who is the OER coordinator on campus. “OER helps build a stronger connection to materials by both students, who feel material is tailored to them, and faculty, who are able to increase their academic freedom by adopting, adapting, and/or creating materials that perfectly align with their course goals.”
For more information on MCC’s open educational resource initiative, visit www.muskegoncc.edu/oer or contact Lisa Anderson at (231) 777-0274.