Open Education Resources at Salem College
Salem College is a small, all women’s liberal arts college located in Winston Salem, North Carolina. In 2019, their number of enrolled students was 950 (Salem College, 2021). They were founded in 1772 and take pride in being the first and the oldest women’s college in the country. They offer academic programs both in the arts and sciences and a few graduate programs like counseling and education (Academic Programs).
A marketing plan for Open Education Resources would need to include statistics and information highlighting the advantages of OERs and how those benefits translate in a very small, liberal arts, women’s college. In other words, a marketing team would need to ensure they provide detailed information that captures how OERs could result in tangible advantages for a school that has both rich histories and a diverse student and faculty population. As such, their audience would need to be not only known and recognized but understood and embraced. Moreover, the overall mission and vision of the college would need to be upheld in a successful marketing plan. At Salem, their mission statement reads: “Salem College, a liberal arts college for women, values its students as individuals, develops their unique potential, and prepares them to change the world” (Mission Statement and Values). Their core values center on “learning grounded in the pursuit of excellence…in community” and “in responsibility to the self and the world” (Mission Statement and Values).
If I were part of a marketing team, I would divide up a marketing strategy into three main parts: Preparation & Research, Execution & Presentation, and Evaluation & Feedback.
Preparation & Research
As previously stated, the initial step I feel would be helpful in starting an OER initiative to pitch to Salem College, would be to have my team gather statistics and information. For instance, how many faculty members are there are Salem? How are they divided up by discipline? What is the average class size? What do their learning objectives look like? After gathering this information, I would then search for data regarding Open Education Resources specifically for colleges and universities and how they benefit not only students, but faculty as well. For example, Delimont et al. (2016), published an article that detailed the attitudes towards OERs from both student and faculty perspectives at Kansas State University. Their research indicates that “faculty felt it was somewhat easier to teach with OEARs compared to a traditional textbook” (p. 9). Additionally,
“Nearly all…faculty members indicated that they preferred teaching with OEARs instead of a traditional textbook” due to “…customization…easier format to use…, flexibility in teaching content…, ability to collaborate with other instructors more seamlessly…, ease of teaching…, and congruency in learning materials… (p. 9)”.
This information is something I would ensure would be incorporated into our planning for Salem College. After this, the team and I would then put together a plan for talking to Salem College faculty. The plan would be a two-pronged approach consisting of surveys and presentations designed to engage faculty, encourage participation, and inform them of their questions and concerns about Open Education Resources. Details are explained below.
Execution & Presentation
Utilizing the data gathered from the first initial step, my team would next get in contact with Salem College Department Heads about surveys for OERs and incorporating them into their instruction. Assuming Department heads would be on board, preliminary survey emails would be sent out to each faculty member. Questions would include:
· What do you know about Open Education Resources (OER)?
· What would you like to know about OER?
· Have you ever used OER in your instruction?
o If so, would you want to incorporate more into your teaching?
o If not, would you be interested in learning how to begin integrating OER into your courses?
· What are your overall instruction goals as a faculty member of Salem College?
Once responses are received from instructors, they would be analyzed and coded; from this coded data, a presentation would be put together for faculty answering questions, offering data regarding OERs, and tips on how to incorporate these resources into their courses. Information about costs, benefits, and risks would be included. At the end of the presentations contact information would be provided so that they could get in contact with an OER expert to answer any specific questions faculty may have.
Evaluation & Feedback
A few days after presentations are given, email surveys will be sent out again regarding the information delivered. The following questions will be asked:
· Were your questions about OERs answered?
· Will you incorporate more OERs into your courses after having heard the presentations?
· How do you feel OERs can enhance your students educational experience?
· How do you feel that OERs can enhance your goals as faculty and as a researcher?
· Do you feel that incorporating OERs into your instruction carries out the mission and values of Salem College?
At the end of the survey will be various resources links so that faculty can have them at their disposal. These resources will include, but would not be limited to, the following:
· Open Educational Resources and Open Education by Dr. David Mossley
· University Students and Faculty have Positive Perceptions of Open/Alternative Resources and their Utilization in a Textbook Replacement Initiative by Nicole Delimont, Elizabeth C. Turtle, Andrew Bennett, Koushik Adhikari, and Brian L Lindshield
· Benefits of Using OER by Penn State
· Bristol Community College LibGuide on Open Education Resources: OER Resources for Faculty
· University of Nevada Reno University Libraries LibGuide on Open Educational Resources: Research and Opinions
This brief and introductory overview focused on preparation and research, execution and presentation, and evaluation and feedback, offers a glimpse at how I would collaborate with members of my team to promote OERs at Salem College. This plan offers one perspective from which to approach this challenge. A possible alternative would be to offer the presentation portion virtually as an additional option.
References
Academic Programs. Academic Programs | Salem College. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2021, from https://www.salem.edu/academics.
Benefits of using OER. OER and Low Cost Materials at Penn State. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2021, from https://oer.psu.edu/benefits-of-using-oer/.
Delimont, N., Turtle, E. C., Bennett, A., Adhikari, K., & Lindshield, B. L. (2016). University students and faculty have positive perceptions of open/alternative resources and their utilization in a textbook replacement initiative. Research in Learning Technology, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v24.29920
Library guides: Open educational resources: Research and opinions. Research and Opinions - Open Educational Resources - Library Guides at University of Nevada, Reno. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2021, from https://guides.library.unr.edu/oer/evidence.
Mission statement and values. Mission Statement and Values | Salem College. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2021, from https://www.salem.edu/about/mission-values.
Mossley, D. (2013). (publication). Open Educational Resources and Open Education. The Higher Education Academy. Retrieved from https://ils.unc.edu/courses/2021_fall/inls700_001/Readings/Mossely2013-OERandOpenEducation.pdf.
Open educational resources: OER Resources for Faculty. Bristol Community College Library Learning Commons. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2021, from https://libguides.bristolcc.edu/c.php?g=306575&p=2044539.
Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, November 3). Salem College. Wikipedia. Retrieved November 7, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_College#Academics.