48 Institutions Selected to Participate in AAC&U Institute on Open Educational Resources

13 Institutions Receive Grant Funding to Support Their Participation

The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) announced today the forty-eight institutions selected to participate in its 2023–24 Institute on Open Educational Resources. This yearlong institute supports educators in launching, expanding, or hastening campus adoption of free and affordable instructional materials. The institute will begin with a two-day virtual kickoff event on July 24–25, 2023, and will conclude with a capstone closing event on June 10–11, 2024.

Open educational resources (OER) are educational materials, from single lessons to entire textbooks, that are free for faculty and students to use, customize, and share. Use of OER can reduce performance gaps, lower failure and withdrawal rates, and result in significant cost savings for students and institutions. As a result, providing all students with free materials on the first day of class tends to level the academic playing field.

Beginning with the July 24–25 kickoff event, participating teams of faculty, staff, and administrators will engage in activities to facilitate planning for OER implementation. Campus teams will have consultative opportunities to partner with institute faculty throughout the fall and spring terms as their plans are implemented and evolve. Monthly webinars and cross-institutional planning meetings will be hallmarks of the yearlong Institute.

“OER is an increasingly essential component of student success initiatives in higher education,” said AAC&U President Lynn Pasquerella. “The AAC&U Institute on Open Educational Resources provides sustained support and collaboration for those leading OER efforts on campus. We look forward to partnering with the participating institutions over the coming year.”

The Institute on Open Educational Resources is a key element of AAC&U programming in support of campus efforts to advance OER as a strategy for improving educational quality and equity. Over the past two years, grant funding in the total amount of $729,125 from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Michelson 20MM Foundation, and the Davis Educational Foundation has supported campus participation in the institute as well as wide-ranging research on OER and the publication of Leveraging Open Educational Resources to Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Guide for Campus Change Agents. The participation of thirteen institutions in the 2023–24 Institute on Open Educational Resources will be supported by grant funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Davis Educational Foundation.

“Given the range of benefits provided by OER adoption, all campuses should consider including OER within their portfolio of student learning and student success strategies,” said C. Edward Watson, Associate Vice President for Curricular and Pedagogical Innovation and Executive Director for Open Educational Resources and Digital Innovation at AAC&U. “We are pleased to see such a groundswell of support for our OER work from a wide variety of constituents.”

The institutions listed below will participate in the 2023–24 Institute on Open Educational Resources:

• Arcadia University
• Bentley University
• Bridgewater State University
• Capital University
• Colorado College
• Elgin Community College
• Five Colleges of Ohio
• Hudson County Community College
• Indiana University South Bend
• James Madison University
• John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York
• Kabarak University
• McKendree University
• Middlesex Community College
• Minnesota State Community and Technical College
• Missouri State University
• Morehead State University
• National University
• Norfolk State University
• Northern Arizona University
• Northern Michigan University
• Northern Virginia Community College
• Pellissippi State Community College
• Pratt Institute
• Roxbury Community College
• Springfield College
• SUNY Brockport
• Texas A&M University
• University of Central Florida
• University of Wisconsin System
• University of South Carolina Aiken
• Volunteer State Community College
• Walden University
• Wittenberg University
• Yeshiva University

The additional institutions listed below will receive funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to participate in the 2023–24 Institute on Open Educational Resources:

• Bakersfield College
• Clovis Community College
• Contra Costa Community College District
• Fresno City College
• Irvine Valley College
• MiraCosta College
• San Diego City College
• San Diego Mesa College
• San Diego Miramar College
• Santa Barbara City College

The additional institutions listed below will receive funding from the Davis Educational Foundation to participate in the 2023–24 Institute on Open Educational Resources:

• Fitchburg State University
• Granite State College
• Quinnipiac University

About AAC&U

The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) is a global membership organization dedicated to advancing the democratic purposes of higher education by promoting equity, innovation, and excellence in liberal education. Through our programs and events, publications and research, public advocacy, and campus-based projects, AAC&U serves as a catalyst and facilitator for innovations that improve educational quality and equity and that support the success of all students. In addition to accredited public and private, two-year, and four-year colleges and universities and state higher education systems and agencies throughout the United States, our membership includes degree-granting higher education institutions in more than twenty-five countries as well as other organizations and individuals. To learn more, visit www.aacu.org.