Recent News & Faculty Highlights
UC and Elsevier Reach Agreement in 10-year Deal
On 16 March 2021 the University of California reached a 10-year deal with Elsevier to publish UC-authored journal articles openly. You can read the entire story at: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/uc-news-uc-secures-landmark-open-access-deal-world-s-largest-scientific-publisher.
New Faculty Watch Report (2020) Published
The Faculty Watch report provides faculty perceptions and behaviors to allow you to effectively understand the evolution of course content. The report explores the course materials selection process, tracks faculty usage of materials, and analyzes faculty attitudes toward the college store.
John Hilton, III--OER Advocate, User, and Researcher
Dr. John Hilton, III is no stranger to Open Educational Materials. He has researched, used and developed open materials for years with his colleagues in the Open Ed Group (https://openedgroup.org/). His research touches on the efficacy of OER as well as important considerations in using open resources.
Royce Kimmons--OER Advocate in Educational Technology
Dr. Royce Kimmons uses and produces Open Educational Materials for his courses taught in the McKay School of Education. He has developed and published multiple textbooks and other course materials, many of which can be found on an open publishing platform he created at https://edtechbooks.org/.
Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources
This is a great resource for understanding the use of OER within the context of Fair Use. It is a list of links to webinars by employees of the American University Washington College of Law.
The Impact of OER Initiatives on Faculty Selection of Classroom Materials
The adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) is on the rise, driven in part by increasing awareness of OER. But while faculty and institutions have shown increasing awareness and acceptance of OER, many remain unfamiliar with what they are, or how to utilize them.
McGraw Hill and Cengage Merger Stopped
Early 2019 saw two large textbook publishers (McGraw Hill and Cengage) proposed a merger causing push-back from academics worldwide. Thanks for the efforts of many, including SPARC, the merger was called off in early May 2020.
A Looming Challenge for OER
Results of a new survey by Bay View Analytics (formerly Babson) sheds new light on the status of OER and affordability. Issues related to faculty awareness, inclusive access, and adoptions are addressed.
CSU / Elsevier ScienceDirect Renewal Supports the Future of Research in California
California State University has renewed their licence with Elsevier ScienceDirect reducing cost and increasing access across all campuses.
AUTOMATIC TEXTBOOK BILLING An offer students can’t refuse?
Attending college in America is one of the largest expenses someone will have in their lifetime. For more than 30 years, textbook publishers have added to that financial burden by driving up textbook costs through a variety of tactics. The latest effort is to automatically charge students for textbooks on their tuition bill.
Elsevier Exit
Q&A with Florida State University about their Big Deal Cancellation(s)
Smithsonian Releases 2.8 Million Images Into Public Domain
The launch of a new open access platform ushers in a new era of accessibility for the Institution