{"id":2295,"date":"2021-03-17T08:48:34","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T13:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spsfaculty.commons.gc.cuny.edu\/?page_id=2295"},"modified":"2025-02-06T19:59:28","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T19:59:28","slug":"open-educational-resources","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/sps-faculty-community-hub\/open-educational-resources\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Educational Resources at SPS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n[Z Degrees<\/a>] [In the News<\/a>] [Explore OER<\/a>] [OER by SPS Faculty<\/a>] [Workshops<\/a>] [Open Pedagogy<\/a>] [ePortfolios and Open Pedagogy<\/a>]\n

CUNY SPS is making college more affordable, more accessible, and more equitable by embracing Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Pedagogy. Through the support of the New York State Open Educational Resources Initiative, SPS faculty are creating Z-degrees and Zero-Textbook-Cost (ZTC) courses, eliminating or reducing the cost of course materials. In addition, faculty are creating and adapting OER and adopting Open Pedagogy practices to enhance authentic, engaged online learning and promote diversity, inclusion, and accessibility for students.<\/p>\n

In Fall 2024, OER@SPS topped $3.9 million in student savings<\/strong>!\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A
Table 1. Total student savings from using OER and ZTC course materials, Spring 2017 to Fall 2024.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
Figure 1. Total textbook cost savings to CUNY SPS students, Fall 2017 to Spring 2024.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Z Degrees<\/h1>\n

CUNY SPS is home to CUNY\u2019s first bachelor\u2019s \u201cZ Degrees.\u201d It is now possible to complete the Communication & Media, Sociology, Liberal Studies, and Disability Studies undergraduate degree programs without ever purchasing a textbook. In addition, over half of CUNY SPS undergraduate sections are Zero-Textbook-Cost and 99% of General Education sections are either zero-cost or low-cost, with textbooks costs under $25 dollars. Additional course conversions and Z Degrees are planned to launch this year. For more info, including how to find and register for a ZTC course in CUNYfirst, check out the Zero Textbook Cost Courses page<\/a> on the SPS webpage.<\/p>\n[back to top<\/a>]\n

In the News<\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a>It\u2019s been an exciting year for OER@SPS. In Fall 2022, Open Education Global (OEG) honored SPS\u2019s Sarah Kresh with their Emerging Open Leader<\/a> award. The honor is given \u201cto an individual who has demonstrated significant leadership and longstanding involvement with Open Education,\u201d someone \u201cwho has made significant and clear contributions to the furtherance of the Open Education movement, whose contributions to Open Education have spanned regions and\/or had a global impact.\u201d Sarah\u2019s recognition allowed her to be featured in the OEG\u2019s Voices<\/a> podcast.<\/p>\n

Sarah shared the OER@SPS story at the 2023 Northeast OER Summit during her keynote entitled \u201cThe Little Team that Could: Scalable Strategies for Supporting an Institutional Culture of OER and Open Pedagogy<\/a>.\u201d OER team members Kelly Hammond and Rowena Li also presented their Pressbooks project, a collaboration with Professor Joan Mosely and Gen Ed Assistant Director Hannah Miller, \u201cTurning Reliance into Reliability: A Pressbooks and H5P project to replicate an interactive, simulations-rich OER textbook<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n[back to top<\/a>]\n

Explore OER<\/h1>\n

OER are educational resources openly licensed for re-use, revision, retention, remixing, and redistribution. Because they are free, they reduce course costs. Because they can be edited, they offer opportunities to customize them to reflect our students, to accommodate their needs, and to meet our learning objectives. For scholarship on open teaching and learning by CUNY faculty, see this bibliography<\/a> maintained by Stacy Katz.<\/p>\n