Bay College Selected to Participate in Open Educational Resources Study

News

Achieving the Dream (ATD) has selected eight colleges to participate in the next phase of its research on open educational resources (OER).  The goal of ATD’s Teaching and Learning with OER study is to understand whether and how faculty’s use of OER leads to the adoption of new pedagogical strategies in the classroom.  Bay college is a member of the ATD network and was selected to participate.

ATD has partnered with SRI Education to conduct the research, which will include interviews and focus groups with students, faculty, and administrators, as well as observations of OER classrooms during the 2021 spring and summer academic terms.

Researchers will be looking for evidence of innovative teaching practices, such as open pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching practices (CRT), in classes using openly licensed course materials.  “Bay College is very proud of the work faculty and our online department personnel have accomplished creating a significant number of OER books which have reduced cost of attending college $1,457,000 in textbook costs over the last five years for Bay College students.  We look forward to expanding our efforts.” says the President of Bay College, Dr. Laura Coleman.

ATD will develop a set of tools and resources based on the study outcomes to help faculty effectively integrate new teaching practices with their openly licensed materials.  ATD and SRI will release a final report in early 2022.

To learn more about Bay College’s participation in the study, contact Joseph R. Mold, Joseph R. Mold, 906-217-4246 or moldj@baycollege.edu. To read about ATD’s OER Degree Initiative and see the final project report here.

Bay College offers career certificate programs, associate degrees, transfer options, job force training, and opportunities through dual enrollment and early college programs. Classes are available at the Escanaba and Iron Mountain campuses and online.  Fall semester begins August 30 – apply here: www.baycollege.edu.

Achieving the Dream (ATD) leads a growing network of more than 300 community colleges committed to helping their students, particularly low-income students and students of color, achieve their goals for academic success, personal growth, and economic opportunity. ATD is making progress in closing equity gaps and accelerating student success through a unique change process that builds each college’s institutional capacities in seven essential areas. ATD, along with nearly 75 experienced coaches and advisors, works closely with Network colleges in 45 states and the District of Columbia to reach more than 4 million community college students.