Readings in OER Sustainability

Bobby Glushko304 West Hall • 1085 S. University Ave.Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107

The Wiley Cycle: Readings in OER

Sustainability

304 West Hall • 1085 S. University Ave.Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107(734) 763-2285 • [email protected]

On the Sustainability ofOpen Educational Resource Initiatives

inHigher Education

byDavid WileyCOSL/USU


Sustainability

Sustainability might be defined as the ability of a project to continue its operations. And certainly, the idea of continuing is a critical part of the meaning of sustainability.


Sustainability However, we cannot place value on the simple ongoing machinations of a project and staff who produce nothing of value. So the definition of sustainability should include the idea of accomplishing goals in addition to ideas related to longevity.


Elements of Sustainability

1. Sustained Production

2. Sustained Use


Project Models

1. MIT

2. USU

3. Rice


Part Deux

A sustainable model for opencourseware development

Justin Johansen, David WileyBrigham Young University


Part Deux

(a) determine the cost of converting BYU Independent Study’s e-learning courses into opencourseware,

(b) assess the impact of opening those courses on paid enrollment in the credit-bearing versions of the courses

(c) use these data to judge whether or not an opencourseware program could be financially self-sustaining over the long-term without grant monies or other subsidies.


Part Deux

(a) determine the cost of converting BYU Independent Study’s e-learning courses into opencourseware,

(b) assess the impact of opening those courses on paid enrollment in the credit-bearing versions of the courses

(c) use these data to judge whether or not an opencourseware program could be financially self-sustaining over the long-term without grant monies or other subsidies.


ScrubbingCopyright scrubbing includes identifying copyrighted content in a course, identifying the rights holder, negotiating for rights to use the material, and paying any applicable license fees. This scrubbing cost, which is almost non-existent for BYU IS in converting its courses to OCW format, can be one of the most expensive aspects of converting courses to OCW


Net CostsBased on these data points, should BYU IS choose to open additional university courses, the estimated cost would be approximately $284.00 per course. It is unlikely that modifications to the university transform could further reduce the cost. Should BYU IS choose to open additional high school courses, the estimated cost would be approximately $1,173.00 per course.


Stage 3: Profits!Margins on strongly and weakly attributable enrollments are effectively miniscule.

This model seems to be highly viable.


Thank you for your time and attention!