Open Education
Open Education
What is Open Education?
Open Education (OE) maximizes the power of the internet to make education more affordable and effective.
OE resources are licensed under Creative Commons rather than US copyright or international copyright to allow instructors to freely borrow and remix content to suit their pedagogical objectives, in the process lowering student costs and promoting indigenization.
As AIHEC recognized how OE could enhance the mission of Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), it successfully sought a grant from the Hewlett Foundation to support OE adoption throughout our system then joined the Community College Consortium for OER (CCC OER), DOERS3, and Open Education Network (OEN) to participate in the wider movement.
Watch Tohono O’odham Community College Instructional Faculty member Linda Chappel speak about Open Education and Indigenous knowledge.
Why Open Education?
TCU students are sensitive to the costs associated with pursing higher education
- TCU average annual undergraduate tuition is $3,582 (Data USA)
- TCU average room and board costs are $7,308 (Data USA)
- 79% of TCU students receive Federal Pell Grants (American Indian College Fund)
Textbooks at TCUs are too expensive
- TCU students pay an average $1,178.47 for books per year (full time, independent)
- TCU textbooks can cost up to $1,000 and average $64 each
- TCU textbooks cost averages range from $33 (Art) to $87 (Trades) by field
If only books with native content were assigned, students would save money
- Only 236 books on native topics were assigned in Fall 2024 (11% total adoptions)
- Only 115 publishers released these books
- These native books cost $22 on average
TCUs are already starting to adopt Open Education materials
- 9 TCUs have ≤49% of their courses using commercial textbooks
- 2 TCU Presidents committed their institutions to preferring OE
- 66 OE textbooks have been adopted so far
Open Education savings compound rapidly
- 48 courses at TCUs are taught ≥20 times
- 36 of these 48 courses have open materials available
- TCUs would save $1,838,559 per semester if only those 36 courses switched
How Can I Support Open Education?
Students
- Tell your instructors if the textbook is too expensive for you
Instructors
- Look at open textbook options before choosing a commercial alternative
- Talk to other faculty in your field that have used open alternatives
- Consider creating your own pedagogical content
- Share any pedagogical content you’ve already created
- Attend professional development opportunities on open educational topics
Administrators
- Suggest instructors review open textbook options first
- Save bookstore time by using digital open textbooks instead
- Do not allow bookstore vendors to sell open textbooks
- Review OER-Friendly Language for Bookstores
Librarians
- Buy copies of the most used commercial textbooks
- Remind instructors and students that they can print open textbooks
- Collect books by native authors and on native topics