Skip to main content

SLCC at White House symposium to discuss Open Educational Resources

As the cost of a college education remains prohibitively high for many people, university and college leaders met at a recent White House invitation-only event to discuss how they are using so-called “open educational resources” (OER) programs to lessen the financial impact on students. The White House’s recent Open Education Symposium included Salt Lake Community College’s Jason Pickavance, director of educational initiatives and a champion at SLCC of using OER-based courses for a variety of subjects.

Jason Pickavance

“The Salt Lake Community College OER Initiative has saved students over $750,000 since we started tracking savings in the summer 2014 semester,” said Pickavance. “This fall semester we saved students about $300,000 with about 150 OER sections. We’re offering OER-based courses in math, biology, business, education, English, history, sociology and psychology. Our goal is to save SLCC students at least $3 million over the next three years. We’re on track to complete that goal. In the fall of 2016, we should have 300-400 open sections, at least doubling this year’s total.”

During the White House symposium, school leaders, technology tool providers, state leaders and other stakeholders met with senior administration officials to “demonstrate the positive impact that openly licensed educational resources can have on teaching and student learning.” Earlier this year the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) gave the first biennial Alan E. Hall Innovation for Undergraduate Student Success Award to Pickavance and Suzanne Mozdy, associate dean of SLCC’s Math Department. USHE recognized the pair for their efforts with SLCC’s own OER initiative to make affordable online resources more available for students.

“The invitation to the White House event was a recognition of the fact that SLCC is doing exciting things in the open education space,” Pickavance said.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

SLCC's Undergraduate Annual Research Conference Registration Deadline

Salt Lake Community College’s annual Undergraduate Projects, Performances, Presentations, and Research Conference (UP3RC) is set to take place on April 2, at the Taylorsville Redwood Campus, offering students a chance to showcase their academic achievements, fostering a culture of intellectual exchange.  The UP3RC is an annual event designed to celebrate and highlight the academic accomplishments of undergraduate students. It provides a supportive environment for students to share their work, hone their presentations skills, receive constructive feedback, and engage in meaningful discussions with their peers and faculty. All SLCC departments and programs, including faculty and staff, are encouraged to support and visit the day of the event. Students with their poster from last year's UPRC event “The goal of this event is to make sure every school and student is given the opportunity to participate,” says Dr. Kamal Bewar, interim director of the STEM Learning Center, who is chairin

SLCC Business School is Utah’s First to be Named Exclusively After a Woman

Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) proudly announces a partnership with the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation to modernize its Business Building and transform its School of Business. The improvements are made possible through a generous $10 million gift from the Miller Family Foundation and Gail Miller, the largest-ever single cash donation received by the college.  SLCC is renaming its Business Building the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Business Building in honor of the Miller family’s legacy and contributions to the community. The business school will be named the Gail Miller School of Business in recognition of the strong business acumen Gail Miller displays as a community leader and as the owner and immediate past chair of the Larry H. Miller Company. This name change will make SLCC home to the only business school in Utah and one of only a few in the country to be named exclusively after a woman.  “We are deeply humbled by the generosity of Gail and the Miller fam

You’re Invited to A Party! Open House Kicks off New Herriman Campus

  Complimentary food truck fare, live music, and family activities spotlight new campus.   There’s something for everyone at the upcoming Herriman Campus Community Open House on Friday, August 4 (3:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.). See schedule below.   The public is invited to celebrate the opening of this new campus with festivities that include free local food truck fare, live music, and a Mocktail Mixer, where you can mingle with others, including Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) and University of Utah (U of U) faculty.   Families with kids can engage in face painting and a craft station, see the Super Mario Brothers movie, and high-five mascots Brutus, Swoop and Yeti.   This is an opportunity to have some summer fun for all ages and to check out the Juniper building on the new 88-acre SLCC Herriman campus.    At the open house, prospective students and their families can meet SLCC and U of U faculty and staff, take a tour the building, or even check out the Application & Transfer Lab a