Jennifer Jordan OER Librarian and Principal Investigator, New Mexico Open Educational Resources Consortium Pilot Project Increasing equity and inclusion with OER 

Agenda ● Textbook cost study ● OER Initiative @ UNM ● NMOER Consortium ● Next steps ● Q&A 

ThePurpose of the Study 

Scientific Rationale ● Obtain insight into the student experience at UNM. ● Provide local data about student perceptions to do the following: ○ Gain buy-in from faculty and administrators ○ Build interest in use of OER instead of using traditional course materials. 

Survey Population ● Thirty percent of degree-seeking students at UNM surveyed or 5,500 students Campus Undergraduate Enrollment Number of invitees Albuquerque 15,627 4,700 Gallup 1,403 425 Los Alamos 252 75 Taos 352 100 Valencia 573 200 Total 17,639 5,500 

Participants’ Backgrounds ● Less than a third identify as first-generation college students (n = 93, 27.9%). ● Low representation does not align with campus statistic ● According to First Gen Proud (2022) at UNM, nearly half the student population is first gen First Gen College Students ● White, 98 or 36.84% ● Hispanic/Latinx, 97 or 36.47% ● Native American/Alaskan Native, 30 or 11.28% ● African American/Black, 7 or 2.63% ● Asian American/Asian, 18 or 6.77% ● Other, 16 or 6.02% 

Participants’ Financial Burdens 

Participants’ Course enrollment 

Participants’ Course Materials’ Budget 

Participants viewed costs as unreasonable 

Consequences of Costly Course Materials 

Course Materials Affect Student Retention ● More than 10% of students surveyed dropped or withdrew from a course in which they couldn’t afford the materials ● Fischer et al. (2015) had similar findings ○ Students who face financial barriers in obtaining course materials may struggle academically and are more likely to withdraw from courses ○ They may also be more likely to take fewer courses ○ Or, switch to less expensive courses, limiting their ability to fulfill degree requirements. 

Textbook Cost May Deter Degree Completion ● Study found cost of materials deterred students from ○ Enrolling in courses ○ Enrolling in programs ○ Finishing a course ● Research confirms findings ○ Jhangiani and Jhangiani (2017) found this phenomenon can affect students’ academic progress. 

UNM OER Initiative 

Evidence-Based Growth Laying groundwork with infrastructure, survey data, and outreach helped helped secure state funding: ● UNM OER Working Group developed a proposal for state funding ● Associated Students of UNM lobbied on our behalf ● 100k junior bill funding allocation Image by Manfred Steger from Pixabay 

Evidence-Based Growth Survey data, infrastructure, and state funding were used as evidence to apply for a federal grant. ● Federal money, 2.125 million dollar DOE grant to create an OER consortium ● Working with two other colleges in state 

New Mexico Open Educational Resources Consortium ● DOE Grant for $2.125 million from 2024-2026 to create an OER consortium for higher education institutions in New Mexico. ● Develop OER creation hub through the UNM’s University Libraries, UNM Press, the Center for Teaching and Learning, and Information Technology. 

Launching the Consortium 1. Each campus is developing faculty calls for proposals that prioritize savings, impact, and equity 2. UNM is developing and sharing resources: ○ An ebook platform ○ A faculty guide that prioritizes equity goals ○ Community of practice for faculty 3. Center for Teaching and Learning and OER hub is working with faculty and departments ○ Sample result: OER revised with a collaborative revision process 

University of New Mexico 

Equity Approach: Thinking about More than Cost Equip faculty with opportunities and resources to develop OER that are ● Accessible ● Center marginalized voices ● Engage traditionally underrepresented students QR Code: UNM’s Faculty Guide for OER 

Aligning OER with Equitable Practices ● Culturally-responsive Pedagogy identifies and nurtures students’ unique cultural strengths to support student success and well-being ● Critical pedagogy engages teachers and students in dialogue about existing power structures and the ways in which to address oppression in education ● Trauma-informed Pedagogy acknowledges traumatic events that students may encounter and validates how these may affect their ability to learn 

Anti-Racist and Inclusive Open Pedagogy ● Inclusive Open Pedagogy ○ Emphasizes openness and collaboration ○ Includes underrepresented students ● Anti-racist pedagogy ○ Contextualizes history and systems of oppression in course content ○ Acknowledges privilege and bias ○ Identifies ways to address systems of oppression 

Next Steps 

More OER Development and Piloting 

OER Program Assessment Surveying students and faculty pilots can help: • Measure impact and engagement • Identify students’ needs • Build credibility for the initiative • Develop and revise OER materials • Provide evidence to current and future funders Image by Mạnh Nguyễn Hồng from Pixabay 

Questions? Image by AJS1 from Pixabay