11 Considering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in OER

E5: Images and representation

Images and representations of people are homogenous and/or stereotypical, without acknowledgment or explanation.

Images and representations are diverse, and/or the instructor acknowledges the lack of diversity and provides a platform for discussion around representations and stereotypes.

Images and representations reflect broad diversity, and course activities encourage students to analyze representations and stereotypes throughout the course.

E6: Human Bias

Human biases (e.g interaction bias, implicit bias, etc.) are not clearly addressed.

Human biases are acknowledged, and instructor provides information about how to address and handle different types of bias in the class.

Instructor shares how they work to manage their own biases, and empowers students to identify, learn about, and address human biases.

E7: Content Meaning

There are no clear connections between course content and students’ lives.

At least three course activities require students to connect course content to their own lives and/or reflect on course content is relevant to their futures.

Multiple course activities require students to connect course content to their socio- cultural backgrounds and/or the socio-cultural backgrounds of others.

E8: Connection and Belonging

Student connections and a sense of belonging within the course are not fostered through course communications and activities.

Course communications and activities foster personal connections among students, and demonstrate the instructor cares about each unique student’s participation and success in the class.

Course communications and activities deepen connections among class participants, and encourage students to connect to your institution and the discipline more broadly.

Availability of

OER

OER are available online.

OER available offline through limited printing access.

OER are accessible to all learners, and available online and offline.

New OER are designed in adherence to accessibility requirements and standards.

Monitoring plan in place to ensure no disparities in students accessing OER, including by ability, income, race/ethnicity, gender, geographic location, and majors.

Access to

Technology

(Broadband, Devices, and

Services)

The plan includes alternatives for accessing OER for students with technology impediments and students can access course materials in a variety of ways.

Student Awareness of

OER

Some institutional units and departments are beginning to take responsibility for informing students about OER and how to access them.

Course schedules and catalogues, and bookstore increasingly include clear OER course markings.

More institutional units and departments are informing students about OER, including library, academic units, advisement and student support units, and bookstore.

Published cost-of-attendance information includes language on no- and low-cost textbooks and course materials.

Students are informed about data privacy aspects of automated textbook purchasing programs and other course material options.

Communication plan includes continuous monitoring of assessment, improvement, and dissemination.

Instruction & Pedagogy

No attention paid to inclusive pedagogy.

Faculty of diverse voices, perspectives, career stages and identities not represented among instructors that use OER, and/or they do not have adequate support.

No incentives, professional development, financial or technical support provided to instructors.

Faculty receive no recognition of OER engagement for tenure and promotion.

Attention beginning to be paid to inclusive pedagogy, including:

Growing awareness and action to ensure faculty of diverse voices, perspectives, career stages and identities are represented among OER instructors.

Culturally and ability-inclusive OER content, including attention to bias in images, multi-media, and text.

Diversity, equity and inclusion statements and expression of commitment to inclusive pedagogy made by faculty and some departments.

Instructors have access to some ad hoc instructional design resources, professional development, financial or technical support.

Faculty receive some recognition of OER engagement for tenure and promotion in isolated departments

Faculty of diverse voices, perspectives, career stages and identities are more equitably represented among instructors using OER across departments, units and colleges.

Culturally and ability-inclusive OER content, including attention to bias in images, multi-media, and text, have been widely adopted.

Instructors increasingly have access to incentives to engage with OER, including more instructional design and other technical and financial support through designated staff, units, funding and/ or structured professional development.

Faculty increasingly receive recognition of OER engagement for tenure and promotion across academic departments and colleges.

Faculty of diverse voices, perspectives, career stages and identities are represented equitably among instructors using OER institution-wide.

All instructors have access to ongoing and sustained professional development, including instructional design and technical support, funding and time.

All instructors have access to sustained grant program to incentivize and support adoption and creation of OER, and culturally and ability-inclusive OER content.

Faculty receive full recognition for OER engagement in tenure and promotion.

Content: Quality of OER Content

Quality standards beginning to be defined, shared and adopted in isolated and limited ways across departments and units.

Quality standards are adopted and implementation plan is under development to include assessment and continuous improvement, and unit- and/or institution-wide dissemination.

Quality content standards include attention to many of the following components:

cultural responsiveness, relevance and inclusiveness, accessibility and inclusive design, instructor authority over resources, and alignment of OER with course learning outcomes and assessment.

Implementation of OER quality content plan across unit(s) and/or institution, including regular assessment and continuous improvement.

OER quality content plan includes attention to all of the following components:  cultural responsiveness, relevance and inclusiveness, accessibility and inclusive design, instructor authority over resources, and alignment of OER with course learning outcomes and assessment.

Content: OER Across the

Curriculum

No attention is paid to availability and assessment of OER across the curriculum, in Gen Ed, Core and gateway courses, majors and transfer pathways, to ensure access by diverse student populations in terms of ability, income, race/ethnicity, gender, geographic location, and majors.

Implementation of OER Across the Curriculum plan, including assessment and identification of continuous improvement and scaling opportunities to ensure availability of OER in Gen Ed, Core and gateway courses, majors and transfer pathways, with a focus on diverse student populations, in terms of ability, income, race/ethnicity, gender and geographic location.

Infrastructure – Staff Support

Planning underway for additional staff requirements and professional development needed to build staff capacity.

Comprehensive OER staffing plan in place that includes dedicated position lines, funding, regular professional development, and continuous evaluation and improvement designed to scale institution-wide.

Infrastructure – Course Marking

Responsibility

Exploration of options underway, including conversations with stakeholders (students, library, faculty, administrative leadership, registrar, bookstore) regarding federal and/or state requirements, and how the institution can better serve students and work towards compliance through policy, practice, and platforms.

• Identification of roles and responsibilities

• Policy guidance

• Budgetary requirements, including staffing and platform/technology

• Clear instructions

• Bookstore, faculty, and student engagement;

• Communication to build understanding of course marking designations, i.e., OER, ZTC /Zero Textbook Cost, zero-cost course materials, LTC/Low Textbook Cost or low-cost course materials (with defined amount).

• Student engagement;

• Dissemination and adoption of policy and instructions, roles and responsibilities for library, registrar, faculty, departments, course coordinators;

• Required resources for staffing, platform and technology support;

• Bookstore engagement;

• OER courses and other course designations flagged in data systems, i.e., bookstore listings, course schedules and registration;

• Evaluation with metrics and ongoing monitoring.

Planning underway for staff, budgetary and platform development requirements, including conversations about platform options, what can be done locally, and what needs to be out-sourced.

Full-time IT support in place, with platform operational.

Institutionalization of plan includes continuous improvement designed to scale and sustain funding,

Engagement

Conversations beginning to make bookstore aware of OER options and requirements.

Some consideration underway of roles and responsibilities of institutions and instructors in bookstore relationship, including policies, protocols and deadlines.

• Engage faculty, registrars, other administrative units and bookstore as partners with respective roles and responsibilities.

• Identify policies, protocols and deadlines.

• Inform students and faculty about where OER are available.

• Inform students and faculty about proprietary textbook and course material costs, options and requirements.

• Develop o procure bookstore software to track information from faculty and departments.

• Bookstore works with faculty to make OER options available and transparent.

• Bookstore communication to enable students to make informed choices about OER and proprietary options.

• Cooperation between bookstore and registrar.

• Bookstore infrastructure to support and track OER options and make them clearly available to students and faculty

• Institution has a process for attaching ISBN to OER.

• Institution-wide policies, protocols and deadlines communicated broadly.

• Transparency and tracking also for proprietary textbook and course material costs, options and requirements.

• Institutionalization of plan includes ongoing evaluation for continuous improvement, scalability, and sustainable funding designed to support and sustain bookstore partnership and accountability.