TAP: Did you have an “aha moment” in Open Education, and if so, when and what was it? 

BI: My “aha moment” developed over time. My co-author and I were self-publishing Collaborative Statistics in the 1990s (we had purchased the rights back from the commercial publisher) so that we could keep the cost of the textbook low. I knew that textbook costs were a barrier for students. At that time, very few faculty and students had internet access or email addresses. About ten years later, in 2005 or so, my then-Chancellor at the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District, Dr. Martha Kanter, asked me to join her for a meeting at the Creative Commons headquarters in San Francisco. After that meeting, she took me to Rice University for the Connexions (now OpenStax) Conference. In addition to the brilliant faculty from around the world who I encountered, I met another brilliant person, Nicole Allen who, as a recent college graduate, was then working for Student PIRGs. Via my long discussions with Nicole, Dr. Kanter, Hal Plotkin (then on my district’s Board of Directors), and Dr. Rich Baraniuk, Dr. Sidney Burress, and Kathy Fletcher of Rice University, my “aha” took shape. I came to realize how much was possible in serving students. At that point, I was focused on the cost savings for students. It was later that I realized all the additional benefits of Open Education.

TAP: You hold a Ph.D. in Education with a specialization in Instructional Design for Online Learning. How has this specialization influenced your work in Open Education? 

BI: By the late 1990s, I had been teaching online for quite a while. My co-author, Susan Dean, and I developed De Anza’s first interactive, online course. It was not just posted pdf files with videos. We took accessibility courses to make the course as accessible as we could. The course won awards in CA and became a model for other faculty. We made the course viewable and copyable for anyone. That was around the turn of the millennium and before we knew of OER. I realized that we were doing what we “thought worked” with no research or concrete knowledge to back it up. That’s when I decided I would earn my Ph.D. with a concentration in Instructional Design for Online Learning. One concrete way this specialization influenced my work in Open Education occurred in 2018 when I was the chief architect leading a project with OpenStax to create Canvas shells for the then-38 OpenStax textbooks. The team created accessible open course shells that also provided pedagogy for faculty in teaching online and for students taking their first online course. We embarked on this project for a variety of reasons. The California Community Colleges had adopted Canvas as the Course Management System for all the colleges. More and more faculty were starting to teach online, especially adjunct faculty, some of whom received their teaching assignments with short notice and had never taught online before. These shells were a way to jumpstart the course construction for faculty. We included activities such as a template welcome letter for faculty to update for their students, a section of “how to’s” for both students and faculty, and one-stop integration of the OpenStax texts. The welcome letter included blanks for faculty to fill in their tutoring centers, food bank locations, educational diagnostic centers, learning centers, and more. At many colleges, the distance learning offices would include such information and customize the shells for their faculty.   These shells became a model for another group to create Blackboard shells. When March 2020 came and COVID shut down on-campus classes, suddenly thousands of faculty were required to move their classes online overnight. I received many emails from faculty around the country thanking us for creating these shells which, in essence, taught faculty how to teach online. 

TAP: Your co-authored Introductory Statistics (formally published as Collaborative Statistics, housed at the Connexions repository) and Introductory Business Statistics were among the first texts published by OpenStax. What made you and your co-authors decide to go with OpenStax, as opposed to a commercial publisher? 

BI: When we first authored the textbook in the early 1990s, Susan Dean and I were using our college’s print shop to create course packs for students. We were approached by several commercial publishers. Our biggest concern was the cost of the book for students. Even then, in the early 1990s, we were well aware of the struggles that students faced in obtaining their education. So many of these students were struggling with food and housing insecurities, transportation, and child care. I realized that the one way that I could make their lives a bit easier was to have the mandatory textbook as low in cost as possible.  We agreed to have the textbook published commercially with a contract stipulation that the cost would stay under a certain amount, adjusted annually for inflation. Well, that publishing company was bought by another one. The new company more than doubled the cost of the textbook in one year. That company also was buying other companies and was not interested in our book. My co-author and I paid for the copyright to go back to us. We self-published, keeping the cost low, until around 2006. Collaborative Statistics then became a guinea pig for Connexions to create the first U.S. fully accessible, open textbook. This was a fabulous project funded by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Maxfield Foundation, with research done by ISKME, support with the High Tech Center Training Unit (for accessibility), and technology  done by Kathy Fletcher at Connexions. In my mind, this was the very best decision possible. It is so rewarding to be part of the process and witness the textbook adoption from 5 colleges to over 1000 now through OpenStax.

TAP: In 2007, you were one of the founders, with then-Chancellor Dr. Martha Kanter at Foothill-DeAnza Community College District, of the Community College Consortium for OER (CCCOER), serving as its first project director. What was the need you and your co-founders were seeking to address for community colleges at the intersection of the burgeoning field of Open Education? 

BI: Dr. Kanter had the vision and founded CCCOER. She asked me, Judy Baker, and Una Daly to take on various leadership components. My role as project director was to grow the consortium so that we could build a group of community colleges that wanted to work together and support each other to reduce the cost burden for students. Major funding for Open Education had gone to MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and Rice Universities. Those universities could support the infrastructure to build the field. They did an amazing job at opening up knowledge worldwide. People around the world who previously did not have access to research universities suddenly were able to work independently to gain tremendous knowledge. However, in the United States it is the community college students who struggle the most financially in paying for their textbooks and education. We knew that if we could reduce and hopefully eliminate textbook costs, we would make a huge impact on millions of students. We were all trying to fill the gap left after students paid for tuition or received tuition waivers and what prevented those students from remaining in college. At that early point in time, I was concentrating on Open Education as eliminating a financial burden for students. I wasn’t yet thinking about how it can promote active learning and teaching.

TAP: You served on the Board of Directors for OE Global. Can you discuss some of the benefits for California community college staff, faculty, and administrators of a global perspective on the field of Open Education? 

BI: In many ways, community college faculty and staff lead a very isolated and sheltered professional existence. Our mission and duty are to educate our students and prepare them for transfer and/or the workforce. Few of us engage in active research as our full load is teaching, and research is not part of our duties and generally not part of the tenure or promotion process. The same goes for publishing. My own research and publishing were considered a “side gig” – something I participated in during my free time. I was evaluated, as most community college faculty are, on my teaching and committee work. Sometimes, attending conferences counted positively, but funding for conferences is limited and typically only covered a portion of my expenses.

"Blank World Map - no borders" by jrhode is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

I was already a California state leader in both Open and Basic Skills (developmental mathematics, English, ESL) community college education. On the Board of Directors of a global organization, I learned so much from my international colleagues and how worldwide projects vary. I was able to bring that knowledge back to serve CA and North America. In fact – this will sound like “this time in band camp” – it was on a bus in Bali sitting with Cable Green, one of my heroes, friends, and international leader for Creative Commons, on the way to meet the King of Bali as part of OE Global 2013, that I asked Cable what I could do to improve open access for California Community Colleges. I was on loan to our statewide Chancellor’s Office at the time and was the only person in the office involved in Open Education as well as who understood CC licensing. Brilliantly, Cable suggested we work together to have the Chancellor’s Office Board of Governors adopt language that would require all grants it awarded to have CC BY attribution license for any works developed. As public grants are funded by taxpayer dollars, that made complete sense. 

Additionally, I worked with Paul Stacey (then at Creative Commons and later Executive Director of OE Global) to draft the language that Hal Plotkin wrote for with the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College Career Training Grants for Workforce grants (TACCCT, $2 billion over 4 years) while he was the Senior Policy Analyst at the U.S. Department of Education under President Obama. The TACCCT grants were the first federal grant program to ever require use of CC BY licensing. At the time, the California Community College system became the largest system in North America to require such licensing. This was a huge shift for CA which then became the model for other states and systems to follow. It also opened the doors to ZTC funding statewide and saved taxpayers’ money by not having duplicate projects funded and then hidden away. I also learned the practices internationally through my OE Global Board of Directors colleagues. I was able to bring their wisdom back into practice. None of this would have been possible if I had not become internationally involved.

TAP: In yet another groundbreaking contribution to our field, you were the first OER and Innovation Fellow for the Michelson 20MM Foundation. How did that benefit advancing your work in the field?

BI: I am eternally grateful to Dr. Gary Michelson, founder and funder of the Michelson 20MM Foundation. It was an honor and privilege to have this fellowship created for me to serve in for two years and then for others to follow. Part of my duties were advocating for more OER/ZTC CA legislation and funding. Thanks to this fellowship, I was invited to be “in the room where it happens” (quote from the musical Hamilton). I had the time and resources to travel around CA advocating for increased OER/ZTC at conferences for the CCC, CSU, UC, and high school dual enrollment programs. With Dr. Michelson’s backing, I was included in high level meetings, as well as high level officials accepting my requests for meetings. Via these conferences and meetings, I learned more and more that I could put into action.

TAP: What has been the influence of this foundation and others, like Hewlett, on Open Education? What are the opportunities and challenges for philanthropy and other funding for our movement in the future? 

BI: Without the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s generosity and visionary practices by Dr. Marshall Smith, then Director of Educational Programs, and Dr. Cathy Casserly, then Education Program Officer, who provided millions of dollars of funding for OER projects, as well as promoting OER, and supporting faculty, research, and technology, there would be no OER movement. There would be no OE Global, no massive sharing of resources, no OpenStax, no OER Courseware, no wide-scale movement. Because of the continued support of the Hewlett Foundation, the Michelson 20MM Foundation, and some other foundations, the collective “we” have saved students billions of dollars internationally, while affording students the opportunity to achieve their educational goals and contribute back to society. Those philanthropic foundations provided the resources to continue the work and provide mentoring and guidance along the way. We will always be indebted to them. 

TAP: In 2013, you received the OCW Consortium (which became OE Global) Educator Award. Can you share your thoughts on the importance of recognizing contributions of professionals, like yourself, to our field? 

BI: When I was awarded the Educator Award, it was the third year of the award. The previous two years, the award went to university faculty from MIT (first year) and Spain (second year). They were from highly esteemed universities. And then came me – a community college faculty member with no international recognition, although Introductory Statistics (then called Collaborative Statistics) was being used worldwide, thanks to the work of Connexions. I was known in CA for CCCOER, the open textbook, and work I had assisted with at the CA Legislature on promoting and supporting OER. For me, this award was on behalf of the importance of the ground-level work of those of us affecting students day-to-day who were desperately wanting to stay in school and afford their textbooks. The award truly recognized the many community college folks who worked so hard on OER efforts: Una Daly, James Glapa-Grossklag, Dr. Judy Baker, Dr. Martha Kanter, and the visionary Hal Plotkin. All of these people are mentors to me and deserve the recognition of being leaders in this work. You know these names because of all the good they’ve done for all of us.

 The award opened the world to what community colleges are and how we serve the “top 100%” of applicants, as Dr. Kanter would say. We were starting to be taken seriously by universities for our OER work, by foundations who typically supported the top-tier research universities, and by the government for our work. I remember at the Bali conference meeting an internationally recognized scholar from South America. When I tried to chat with him on the first day of the conference, he basically dismissed me. After I received the award, he made a point to come and talk with me several times. He epitomized how I previously felt that university faculty, especially those from top research universities, saw those of us in the community college systems. The award “proved” that we were partners in the OER/ZTC endeavor, not support staff. I must add that, even though such patronizing was and is a common experience for community college faculty, over the years we are becoming more valued and respected. I truly believe that those people I described represent a small minority of university professors who we collegially work with on various projects.

TAP: What do you think are the key factors that led to California playing such a key role in the Open Education landscape, culminating in California’s historic investment of $115M in the California Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Grant Program?

BI: In previous years, CA approved a one-time $5 million allocation for OER/ZTC funding. I had played a small role in those funding allocations. Then, as part of my fellowship with The Michelson 20MM Foundation, we had been advocating for a jump to $15 million for the 2020-2021 CA budget. Governor Newsom allocated funds in his preliminary budget. He even gave the CA Community Colleges a shout-out in his budget release for our OER/ZTC work. We all know what happened in March 2020, so by the time of the May Revise to the budget, COVID funding needs became a priority. When OER/ZTC funding went back into the budget, it was put in at $115 million, not $15 million. I was not part of that process. Mostly, I think that the reports of our systems, especially James Glapa-Grossklag’s ZTC report showing that an investment of $5 million metamorphosed into $42 million in students’ and taxpayers’ savings, was instrumental. The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges OERI work showed how faculty from around the state came together to develop OER, mentoring each other, and building up support. However, this investment by CA would not have happened without many more political influencers than us. Of course, there were major donors behind the scene, hidden from us, doing what they do best, advocating for what’s “right.”

TAP: You have been a groundbreaking Open and Affordable Education advocate in California and beyond and hold a unique perspective from multiple points of view and organizations, from the institution to funders, to supporting non-profits. From this perspective, what is the significance of the CA ZTC Grant Program for community colleges in the state – and also for Open Education in general?

BI: I mentor colleges and universities around the U.S. in converting from commercial textbooks to OER and developing ZTC programs. An advantage of “being around for so long” is that I have access to multiple people, organizations, and institutions. I know what’s out there and can bring those resources to the schools I mentor both inside and outside of CA. So many people around the world are doing amazing work. We don’t need to replicate each other’s work. We can build upon foundations and achieve so much more. I see that in CA, the U.S., and internationally. The CA ZTC Grant Program gives us the opportunity to build upon the great work that has already been done so that funds can go to new resources. This may sound a bit hokey, but I truly believe that much of the world’s problems can be solved with an educated population for all, not just those with enough financial security to achieve it.

Dr. Illowsky is co-author of groundbreaking statistics textbooks published by OpenStax, the first of which is considered the first open, accessible textbook in the U.S. She has served on the international Board of Directors for the OpenEducation Consortium (now Open Education Global). Dr. Illowsky has been a mathematics and statistics professor at De Anza College since 1989. She is a past president of several organizations, including the California Mathematics Council, Community Colleges. She has been on loan to many projects, including the CCC Chancellor’s Office and the CCC Online Education Initiative as its Chief Academic Affairs Officer. Dr. Illowsky was the inaugural OER and Innovation Fellow for the Michelson 20MM Foundation. She spends her days advocating for and promoting adoption of OER/ZTC and mentoring colleges on their paths to reducing textbook costs for students and increasing success in mathematics programs.