I was able to watch a friend from graduate school present at the NIST FALCoN session this afternoon. Shana Kerr presented on metacognition, retrieval practice, and a study they did. Tonight, we watched an Open Ed 2021 session entitled “Interest Convergence, Shared Goals: Student Government and Library Partnership in OER Initiatives” presented by Regina Gong, OER & Student Success Librarian at Michigan State University, and Aaron Iturralde, Student Body VP for Academic Affairs. Gong has had several years of experience working on OER initiatives in higher education. Iturralde also aimed to decrease the “hidden costs” students face. In his current position, Iturralde was able to connect with the MSU Libraries. They met after an email last year and decided to work with and involve students in an OER initiative. Iturralde spoke about the role of student government at MSU. Gong connected with Iturralde and several students to create an OER advisory committee with student representation. This is an important connection to make that elevates the student voice in OER creation and use. Student government was able to advocate and draft a bill to support OER use and implementation. Iturralde and student government representatives advocated for the expansion of OER, and the bill was passed. The next question Gong raised was: “How can student government make OER sustainable?” In March they did an OER Awareness Week with social media and panels about OER. Their marketing committee created stickers and sustainable notebooks with OER information. This was through allocation of $1,000 of student government funds. This merchandise and advertising helped raise awareness of OER with students and administration and faculty. Iturralde spoke about how student success is a central goal of student government and how OER helps support this. The student government association also created an OER Leadership Award similar to what we have at NC State. Beyond cost savings, the quotes they shared highlight the impact of OER on students, particularly on traditionally underrepresented students. Iturralde explained the role of OER on student wellbeing and mental health that I had not considered! Gong described how collaboration with students can support the greater OER initiatives on campus. I hope that with RLOE and NC State University Libraries we can raise awarenes and empower recent scholars to create together.
