Presentation Type

Panel Presentation

OER Level of Expertise

Beginner

Audience

Faculty, Librarian, instructional designer, Administrator, Staff

Session Abstract

In this session, you’ll hear from some of PIRG’s top student coordinators on the textbooks campaign to increase price transparency, expand OER use, and fight for OER tenure consideration. We’ll highlight what’s working well on our campuses, offer tips for working with students, and common questions and concerns from faculty.

Objectives of the Session

hear success stories of effective student OER advocacy

get tips for approaching and working with students on OER advocacy

Full Description of the Session

The OER movement has tremendous potential to save students money and improve their learning experiences, but their voices are often underrepresented in campus working groups to promote OER. So, how do we get students more involved in the movement? The Student PIRGs have been working to wire college campuses for change for more than 45 years- from committing our colleges to 100% renewable energy to establishing food pantries to end student hunger. Over the years we’ve helped establish funding for dozens of OER programs and developed successful advertising campaigns encouraging faculty to participate, getting commitments from more than a thousand faculty members last school year alone. In this session, you’ll hear from some of PIRG’s top student coordinators on the affordable textbooks campaign, working alongside other OER champs on their campuses to increase price transparency, expand OER use, and fight for OER to be included in the tenure process. Our coordinators will highlight what’s working well on their campuses, offer tips for reaching out to and working with students in your own advocacy efforts, and common questions and concerns they’ve heard from faculty in their outreach. Finally, we’ll open the floor to the crowd for a larger discussion of student OER advocacy.

Presenter Bios

Kaitlyn serves as the Student PIRGs' lobbyist on Capitol Hill, working on campaigns to save student aid and protect student loan borrowers. In 2018, she ran a successful national grassroots campaign convincing Congress to start a federal open textbook program, which is projected to save students $50 million each year. In previous roles with PIRG, she helped start a textbook program at Rutgers University and helped register more than 40,000 people to vote in the 2016 and 2018 elections. Based in Washington, DC, Kaitlyn enjoys yoga, traveling, and the never-ending search for the perfect cup of coffee. Follow her @HigherEdPIRG.

potential student trainers to be confirmed:

John Coviello, UMass Amherst

Kayla Roskey, Rutgers Newark

Deevena Annavarjula, UConn Storrs

Location

Campus Center Auditorium

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Presenters

Kaitlyn VitezFollow

Start Date

22-5-2019 3:25 PM

End Date

22-5-2019 3:50 PM

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May 22nd, 3:25 PM May 22nd, 3:50 PM

Student Perspectives on Textbook Affordability and Advocacy

Campus Center Auditorium

The OER movement has tremendous potential to save students money and improve their learning experiences, but their voices are often underrepresented in campus working groups to promote OER. So, how do we get students more involved in the movement? The Student PIRGs have been working to wire college campuses for change for more than 45 years- from committing our colleges to 100% renewable energy to establishing food pantries to end student hunger. Over the years we’ve helped establish funding for dozens of OER programs and developed successful advertising campaigns encouraging faculty to participate, getting commitments from more than a thousand faculty members last school year alone. In this session, you’ll hear from some of PIRG’s top student coordinators on the affordable textbooks campaign, working alongside other OER champs on their campuses to increase price transparency, expand OER use, and fight for OER to be included in the tenure process. Our coordinators will highlight what’s working well on their campuses, offer tips for reaching out to and working with students in your own advocacy efforts, and common questions and concerns they’ve heard from faculty in their outreach. Finally, we’ll open the floor to the crowd for a larger discussion of student OER advocacy.