The ASCCC is working with the CCC Board of Governors and other stakeholders to ensure continued funding for the work of the ASCCC OERI. In the upcoming legislative cycle, the ASCCC will seek to request that OERI's funding be included in the budget trailer bill language, similar to C-ID.
Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI) was formally launched in early 2019 with funds allocated to the ASCCC in Assembly Bill 1809 (Higher Education Trailer Bill, 2017-2018) “to support the development of, and the expansion of the use of, open educational resources for the California Community Colleges” and has established a faculty-led infrastructure to support local open educational resources (OER) implementation efforts;
Whereas, The OERI has provided professional development regarding OER to over 1400 faculty and funded the development or revision of over twenty-five OER textbooks that require maintenance and updates, but the funding for the ASCCC OERI will end in 2023, thereby dramatically curtailing or ending the ASCCC’s statewide development, curation, and implementation efforts as well as coordinated maintenance and updating of resources developed under the OERI; and
Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges encourages local academic senates to develop mechanisms to encourage faculty to consider open educational resources when developing or revising courses and to document the use of OER on the course outline of record (Resolution 09.05 SP 19) and recommends that faculty consider OER adoption, including customizable teaching materials, as a measure toward achieving equity and facilitating student success (Resolution 09.05 SP 19), linking the OERI’s work directly and effectively to the ASCCC and system goals regarding equity, diversity, inclusivity, and antiracism;
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges collaborate with system partners, including the Community College League of California, Student Senate for California Community Colleges, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, and other appropriate entities, to safeguard the work of the Open Educational Resources Initiative by assisting the ASCCC in securing future funding for the OERI; and
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges advocate for sustainable funding for the Open Educational Resources Initiative from the legislature and Governor’s Office to ensure that the OERI has the funds necessary to continue its work in support of the development, expansion, and use of open educational resources for the California community colleges.
MSC