OER is a constantly evolving and expanding landscape of resources, research, policies and practices that can be overwhelming for those new to the landscape.
A review of the many players, organizations, and resources populating and transforming the landscape can be found in the UT System World of OER Resource Guide, and a glossary of terms is also available. If you would like to explore integrating OER into your classroom, department or institution, we recommend the following resources to help get you started.
In 2020, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board launched OERTX which is a digital OER repository available for students and institutions, and facilitates the curation of OER resources that are free and available to any user. The THECB also established a grant program to support the establishment of OER at Texas higher education institutions.
The University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley has resources designed to help get people started on OER. Resources include basic information about OER, "Six Steps to OER", a search document for OER repositories, among others.
The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries is a UT System champion of creating and supporting OER. Resources include evaluation, publication, printing, copyright assistance, and content migration, among others.
Moving beyond Getting Started with OER
What does OER engagement look like once you move beyond the beginning stages? What do higher education practitioners and leaders need to think about to build greater capacity to develop an OER infrastructure?
- The Student Success Through OER Rubric, developed by the DOERS, provides a comprehensive self-assessment tool designed to guide administrators, instructors, staff, and students in evaluating the current state of OER practice at their system or institution. Each of the dimensions targets specific areas that can remove barriers and enhance opportunities for student success. By using the rubric, stakeholders can reflect on strengths, identify areas for growth, and track progress over time. It is intended to provide a structured framework for internal reflection, planning, and continuous improvement, by helping institutions align their OER initiatives with their mission, resources, and student needs. We believe that all higher education stakeholders have roles to play in advancing these goals. Two members of the UT System Affordable Learning Accelerator Task Force, Dr. Rebecca Karoff from the UT System, and Dr. Rebecca Bichel formerly from UT Arlington, played lead roles in developing the rubric and are members of DOERS.
- The State University of New York (SUNY) developed resources to assist its campuses with OER sustainability planning, which can be found at: https://oer.suny.edu/oer-sustainability/. The website includes an OER sustainability Self-Assessment tool, instructive Field Guide, and template-based Planning Guide are also available.
