Sewanee currently has an OER Team composed of the following members:
Patricia Dover, Electronic Resources Librarian (Group Coordinator)
Alexis Miniat (Student, Class of 2025, Order of the Gown Educational Resource Chair)
Adam Hawkins, Associate Director for Instructional Technology and Design
Dr. Evan Joslin, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Cassandra Meyer, Assistant Dean, Student Equity & Career Readiness
Margaret McGuire, Student Outreach Librarian
Linnea Minich, Information Literacy Librarian
Dr. Romulus Stefanut, Director, School of Theology Library
Past members:
Dr. Bethel Saballos, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Dr. Lisa Stephenson, Vice Provost for Student Success
| OER Workshop for faculty | Aug. 18, 2023 | Held an OER workshop as part of the Center for Teaching's Course Refresh series of workshops prior to the 2023 Fall semester. Five faculty members attended. |
| OER Workshop for faculty presented by the Open Education Network | Oct. 30, 2023 | Participants have an opportunity to write a short review of an open textbook for either a $100 stipend or $150 in professional development funds. |
| OER Faculty Panel and Discussion | March 4, 2024 | Three professors shared their experiences in using Open Educational Resources. |
Sewanee participated in the American Association of Colleges and Universities' 2022-2023 Institute on Open Educational Resources, which was designed for campuses aspiring to launch or expand initiatives to develop or leverage free and affordable materials in teaching and learning contexts.
The members of the Institute Team were:
Patricia Dover, Electronic Resources Librarian (Team lead)
Adam Hawkins, Associate Director for Instructional Technology and Design
Linnea Minich, Information Literacy Librarian
Dr. Bethel Saballos, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Dr. Romulus Stefanut, Director, School of Theology Library
Dr. Lisa Stephenson, Vice Provost for Student Success
| Student Textbook Survey | Sept. 5-25 | Participated as one of eleven Oberlin Group institutions in association with the Open and Equitable Access to Scholarship Working Group to conduct a student textbook survey adapted from the 2016 Florida Virtual Campus survey and the 2019 Gettysburg College survey. The goal of the project was to gain a better understanding of how the costs of course materials impact our own students. |
| Task Force meetings with various stakeholders | Various dates | Exchanged information with administrative offices, the university bookstore, and other identified stakeholders. |
| Student Listening Session | Nov. 7 | Talked with students about their views on textbooks and textbook costs, and their experiences with courses with low-cost textbook alternatives. |
| Faculty sharing session | Nov. 15 | Three professors shared their experiences in using low-cost alternative textbooks with other faculty during a lunchtime session held in the Center for Teaching. |
| Collected Student Stories | Feb. 2023 | Posted a whiteboard in the Library for student comments; solicited student input through the Order of the Gown (social media, student conversations). |
| Open Education Week Display | March 6-10, 2023 | Purchased example print copies of Open Textbooks for a display in the Library; textbooks will be available later in the Center for Teaching for faculty to examine. |
| Presented at Joint Faculties Meeting | April 27, 2023 | Linnea and Adam presented findings of the Student Textbook Survey and examples from the student stories to faculty from the College and School of Theology. |
| Collect current textbook usage and cost data | Continuing |
Find out who is using what sort of textbooks for their courses and how many are no- or low-cost already. Identify the number of students impacted by the highest cost textbooks. Provide starting data for comparison over future OER adoption. |
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