This document summarizes a presentation about marketing open educational resources (OER) degree programs to students. It discusses efforts at multiple community colleges, including Lord Fairfax Community College, Pierce College District JBLM, College of the Canyons, and Northern Virginia Community College. Key points included educating faculty, current students, potential students, and community stakeholders about OER programs and courses through various marketing channels. Success requires a layered approach and informing everyone who works with students.

1. Marketing OER Degrees to
Students
Lyda Kiser, Lord Fairfax Community College
Mark Haskins, Pierce College District JBLM
With other Guest speakers
Mar 1 2017, 10:00 am PST
Unless otherwise indicated, this presentation is licensed CC-BY 4.0

2. Agenda
• Introductions
• CCCOER Overview
• Knowledge2Work Project
• Pierce College District
• College of the Canyons
• Northern Virginia Community College
• Stay in the Loop
• Q & A
Image Front Page Attribution:
Pixabay.com

3. Welcome
Please introduce yourself in the chat window
Moderator:
Una Daly, Director CCCOER
Open Education Consortium
Lyda Kiser, Director,
Office of Transition Programs
Title IX Coordinator
Lord Fairfax Community College, VA
Mark Haskins
Executive Director,
Pierce College at JBLM
Washington

4. • Expand awareness & access to high-
quality OER
• Support faculty choice & development
• Improve student success
CCCOER Mission
http://cccoer.org
Come In, We're Open gary simmons
cc-by-nc-sa flickr

5. 250+ Colleges
in 21 States & Provinces

6. Open Education Week: How To
• Create Awareness on campus
– Schedule speaker, workshops
• Share online resources or webinars
– Organize a brown bag discussion
• Showcase your project
– Submit videos, webinars
• Watch our webinars
– Mar 28, 29

7. Marketing OER Programs to
Students
• If you build it – will they come??
Image license: CC-BY-NC Graduation 2011 from besighyawn on flickr.com

8. Lyda Kiser, Director,
Office of Transition
Programs
Title IX Coordinator
Knowledge2Work

9. MARKETING OER TO
STUDENTS
Lyda Costello Kiser
Lord Fairfax Community
College
Middletown, VA
March 2017

10. A FEW THINGS AS WE BEGIN…
•Lord Fairfax Community College (LFCC) is a mid-size, 2-year public institution
and part of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) founded in 1970
with two campuses and 2 centers
•LFCC’s service region is in the Northern Shenandoah Valley and Piedmont,
covering 7 counties and one independent city (Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick,
Page, Rappahannock, Shenandoah, Warren and Winchester City)
•LFCC serves over 9,500 unduplicated credit students and more than 12,150
individuals in non-credit programs
LFCC is here

12. A BIG DISCLAIMER…
•I do not possess the magic formula
for successful marketing of OER to
students
•Every individual on this call has their
own needs dependent upon their
institutions and populations
•LFCC has some unique components
to its OER efforts, but our experience
should still be helpful

13. LFCC & OER
•The Chancellor of the VCCS raised concerns 3
years ago about the high cost of textbooks for
students
•LFCC’s President’s annual goals includes an
increase in courses using OERS and reduced
cost resources ($40 or less)

14. LFCC & OER
•At LFCC, efforts to convert classes to OER was an individual instructor
initiative at first
•In 2014, LFCC was awarded a DOL TAACCCT Grant for the Knowledge to Work
Program, a competency-based program using OER resources that includes 6
degree/certificate programs and the creation of a web site (
www.highered.org ) that is a repository for free or reduced cost learning
resources tied to competencies.
•In July 2015, the VCCS announced 16 institutions that would be part of the
Zx23 project – a grant from the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation to create
Z Degrees (entire degree programs using OERs) http://edtech.vccs.edu/z-x-
23-project/
•LFCC was NOT one of these institutions, but their work has benefitted ALL
VCCS schools
•In 2016, LFCC was one of 6 VCCS institutions to be part of a consortium OER
Degree Initiative Grant from Achieving the Dream (Central Virginia CC,

15. WHY DOES ALL THAT MATTER?
•Like every institution, we are marketing OER in combination with
several efforts and on multiple levels
•OER is not the sole focus of LFCC marketing efforts
•Like many institutions, LFCC has limited funds available for
marketing
•OER marketing involves education about OER & marketing
courses/programs

16. MARKETING OER AT LFCC
INVOLVES FOUR GROUPS:
•Faculty & Staff
•Current Students
•Potential Students
•Community/Stakeholders

17. FACULTY & STAFF
•Need to understand OER so they can explain it to
students who have questions
•They need to know what OER is, how to identify
courses that use OER, and what this means for
students
•Encourage faculty to join the effort
•This type of marketing is best done through
internal college channels – meetings, emails from
the President & deans, recognition for OER
•At LFCC, we have focused on the opportunity for
stipends, travel to conferences, professional
development, and the ability to benefit students

18. THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM….
Marketing/Promoting OER can cause
problems with faculty because:
1. Some are resistant to any change
2. Some see it as a challenge to academic
freedom
3. Some see it as a threat to their own
publishing efforts or their work with
textbook companies
4. Some are worried that their classes will
lose enrollment when student sign up
for courses that use OER first

19. CURRENT STUDENTS
•Need to know this is an option
•The VCCS has an indicator in our SIS about
these classes
•Need to understand that many OERs are also
available for a fee in print format
•Show them the savings!

20. CURRENT STUDENTS
• Use your available resources – plasma screens, texts,
emails, electronic signs, websites
• Include in Twitter & Facebook posts around registration
times
• Press releases
• Repeat the same information – for us, it is “look for the SIS
designation” for traditional classes and as part of the
emphasis for CBE programs and courses

21. POTENTIAL STUDENTS
•The message of OER is similar to that used by most community
colleges – an economical path towards your educational goals
• Include in cost calculators available on websites
•As part of orientation and advising, show students how to
identify courses using OERs
•Important to specify outward-facing platforms – advertising,
press coverage
•If you have an area of your website or emailed/mailed
information that is targeted to parents, include this information
•Include OER information in acceptance letters?
•Hold information sessions specific to pathways that include
several OER courses

22. COMMUNITY/STAKEHOLDERS
•As a community college, this is an important component
•Employers really like this!
•Outward-facing marketing that includes press, advertising, and
traditional platforms
•Digital media
•Old-fashioned word of mouth – speak at every opportunity, meet
with partners

23. BUT WHAT REALLY WORKS?
• There is no single answer
•However, educating EVERYONE who works with students and the
students themselves is the single most important component!
•TCC example – success through information, resulting in OER
courses filling first
•What is your goal? What are your desired outcomes? Market for
those!

24. THIS IS JUST A STARTING POINT…
Questions?
Share your success!
Thanks!

25. Pierce Open Pathway
Mark Haskins
Executive Director, Pierce College at JBLM
MHaskins@pierce.ctc.edu

26. Marketing OER
at Pierce
wtp?

29. Say goodbye to
expensive
textbooks!
Examples

30. $1M / 3 YRS
$570K
so far! Your degree…no textbooks!
SAVE up to $2,200
What do you think?
What’s Next?

31. Z-degrees
James Glapa-Grossklag Dean, Educational Technology,
Learning Resources, and Distance Learning
James.Glapa-Grossklag@canyons.edu

32. Layered Approach
• Statewide schedule requirement (SB 1359)
• Multiple channels of information to students
• Involve student government (OER resolution)

33. OER-based Degrees
Preston Davis
Director of Instruction, Extended Learning Institute
wdavis@nvcc.edu

34. No Textbook Designation

35. Open Education Week 2017
• Mar 28: OER Adoption at Lansing
Community College and Open Oregon
• Mar 29: OER Degrees at Austin and
Montgomery Community Colleges

36. Stay in the Loop
• Upcoming Conferences
– See our new website under “Get Involved”
– OE Global Mar 8-10, 2017
– Open Ed 2017 Oct, Anaheim
• Year of Open (all year long)
– http://yearofopen.org
Image: pixabay.com

37. Thank you for coming!
Contact Info:
Lyda Kiser: LKiser@lfcc.edu
Mark Haskins: MHaskins@pierce.ctc.edu
Preston Davis: wdavis@nvcc.edu
James Glapa-Grossklag: James.Glapa-Grossklag@canyons.edu
Una Daly: unatdaly@oeconsortium.org
Questions?