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The OER Student Advocate Packet (OER SAP) is an openly licensed resource created primarily for students who’d like to help spread the word about open educational resources and zero-textbook-cost (ZTC) courses. Launched by Florida Virtual Campus (FLVC) Library Services in May 2023, OER SAP is designed to raise student awareness, and make sharing that awareness with others as efficient as possible.
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The OER Student Advocate Packet (OER SAP) is an openly licensed resource created primarily for students who’d like to help spread the word about open educational resources and zero-textbook-cost (ZTC) courses. Launched by Florida Virtual Campus (FLVC) Library Services in May 2023, OER SAP is designed to raise student awareness, and make sharing that awareness with others as efficient as possible.
Short and Sweet
FLVC’s research found that most OER student advocacy materials tend to require significant time and effort. Lengthy handbooks or full-blown training programs often take two weeks or more to complete. “They were great,” recalls Elisabeth Ball, FLVC Program Manager, “but it was a lot of coursework and information for students to go through. So really, almost too much.”
The FLVC team spent a year searching and brainstorming to create OER SAP’s short set of documents along with the OER SAP LibGuide webpage. It’s intentionally compact, featuring quick, actionable OER messaging that’s easy to understand and share, a convenient option for students as well as librarians, faculty, and staff.
A Powerful Voice
Rebel Cummings-Sauls, FLVC Digital Services and OER Unit Director, led the development process and maintained FLVC’s focus on serving all students, not just those in student government or leadership positions.
“We really wanted to branch out and reach further,” said Rebel, “because the student voice is very powerful in the open education conversation. We built OER SAP for the everyday student, for any student. It’s something they can complete very quickly, right then, as they see the advocacy message.”
The OER Message that Sticks
Rebel points out that even the project’s acronym is a quick reminder to make OER stick. “You never know what inspiration one conversation could have, or one advocacy piece could have,” she says. “Our goal is that each student who experiences the Student Advocacy Packet will leave a small drop of OER SAP that sticks, and with each combined drop, builds into a larger movement.”
Gathering Student Feedback
FLVC conducted several rounds of user experience surveys throughout the packet’s development, gathering observations from Open FL Listserv subscribers and FLVC’s Textbook Affordability and OER Standing Committee. In February 2023 FLVC’s full-scale user analysis compiled responses from more than 100 students in Florida and throughout the U.S.
Overall, the analysis showed favorable first impressions of OER SAP and confirmed that students are willing to advocate for OER themselves, and willing to ask others to do the same. Their reaction to OER SAP’s Three Simple Steps showed that students are willing to:
- Share – 91 percent would be willing to share OER information via social media.
- Discover – 82 percent would be willing to try to discover OER or a ZTC course.
- Thank – 64 percent would be willing to thank faculty or staff for using OER.
Could be a Great Alternative
Students also shared their thoughts on the most important message conveyed by the OER SAP LibGuide. Responses included:
- “You can impact the adoption and usage of these resources as a student and… you can help make things more accessible for your classmates or students which is really cool!”
- “That OER are free to access, and faculty can utilize them to save students money.”
- “Spreading the word of OER. I feel like not a lot of people know about it at all, and perhaps it could be a great alternative if enough people got on board.”
It’s About Helping Students
Both Elisabeth and Rebel say they’d like to see OER SAP reach students who are unaware of OER, approximately 82 percent according to survey results. “For quite a lot, it’s about teaching them what OER is,” Rebel observes. “That alone, just the introduction of OER, is a big first step, and we’re hoping that slowly each year we can start to increase awareness.”
FLVC plans to send out a new user experience survey this summer. To date, the OER SAP LibGuide has received more than 770 views, and schools have let FLVC know they’re modifying the original packet, which has been gratifying for the team. “It’s in keeping with the mission of FLVC Library Services,” Elisabeth concludes. “We’re about helping students, and this is a product to that end.”
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