Student Success and Affordability through the use of Open Educational Courses

Awarded Grant: $19,200

Principal Investigator:

Marty Christofferson, Tompkins Cortland Community College

Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) along with four partner SUNY community colleges and the SUNY Center for Professional Development will develop a colloquium to grow the adoption of already established courses using OER. The two disciplines that will be the focus of this event are Math and Psychology. TC3 has already demonstrated improved student success outcomes, retention, teaching methods, and significant savings for students as part of the Kaleidoscope project.   We will leverage this knowledge with other SUNY faculty. Affordability of higher education has become a very significant issue. According to the College Board, students should expect to spend $1,137 annually on textbooks and other course materials. Nationally, the GAO estimates that textbook costs are comparable to 26% of tuition at state universities and 72% at community colleges. We will demonstrate how this initiative can make a SUNY education more effective and affordable.

Co-PI’s and Key Partners:

Sophia Georgiakaki, Associate Professor, Mathematics and Coordinator of Developmental Mathematics, TCCC
Amber Gilewski, Assistant Professor, Psychology, TCCC
Tony DeFranco, Coordinator of Learning Technology Services, TCCC
Bob Yavits, Instructional Software Specialist, TCCC

Reports and Resources:

• IITG colloquium assessment
• Colloquium survey results
• Article in The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning
• The Kaleidoscope Open Course Initiative
• Mid-project report
• Project outcomes report
• Project outcomes report 2.0

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