By adopting an OER policy, universities can set clear signals and framework conditions for the use and creation of open educational materials and actively position themselves in favor of free access to education and knowledge. The development of a policy and its anchoring in the strategic goals of a university on the one hand and the implementation of its principles in (teaching) practice on the other pose a number of challenges.
Network meeting of twillo
With these introductory sentences, twillo has so far initiated and hosted five network meetings on the topic of OER policy. The aim was to create a forum for exchange for those people at universities who are either already developing an OER policy or would like to initiate this process at their university or other institution. On average, 25 people took part in the network meetings. These were drawn from the entire German-speaking higher education sector (including the DACH region) and included, for example, lecturers, librarians, employees from central institutions such as university didactics, e‑learning centers or central institutions/departments for continuing education as well as higher education policy institutions.
Some were only interested in one specific aspect, some have been attending since the first meeting and have formed a small community. The network meetings usually have a modular structure with short thematic inputs followed by a discussion, which is documented in a pad and publicly accessible to all interested parties.
Review and insight: First policy network meeting (August 2022)
The first meeting took place in August 2022. In a moderated discussion between Yulia Loose and Dr. Norbert Kleinefeld from ELAN e.V., the following questions were first clarified:
- What is an OER policy?
- What reasons are there for a university to adopt one?
- What content is relevant for an OER policy?
- How can the policy be translated into practice?
This conversation was recorded and is available on the twillo website. Afterwards, the participants were able to take part in a speed dating session with a total of four other people to discuss the status of their own policy development, the associated goals, the people involved and their own experiences.
The following points were then discussed in the plenary session:
- When establishing framework conditions for OER, there is a need to sharpen the terminology with regard to OER strategies and OER policies
- OER can serve as a way of strategically positioning institutions on the education market
- A combination of top-down and bottom-up processes is considered useful in order to implement OER in teaching practice
- There needs to be a stronger focus on the subsequent use of OER
- In order to establish the use and creation of OER at the university, their practical added value must be communicated more clearly and concrete incentives created
- OER infrastructures should open up opportunities for comprehensive exchange on curriculum planning
Second network meeting (January 2023)
At the second meeting of the network in January 2023, the participants were able to choose between six topics and discuss them together using the World Café method — the most important points were recorded on a publicly accessible pad. As the discussion mainly revolved around more general aspects of OER, such as the involvement of students or the reuse of OER, the plenary session jointly decided to focus more on core aspects directly related to an OER policy for future meetings.
Third network meeting (May 2023)
The third meeting took place at the beginning of May 2023. This time, twillo invited three OER policy experts whose universities had already adopted a policy: Katharina Ebrecht from Reutlingen University (see Policy of Reutlingen University), Elisabeth Scherer from the University of Düsseldorf(see Policy of the University of Düsseldorf) and Sina Nitzsche from Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts(see Policy of Dortmund University of Applied Sciences). The speakers reported on their individual experiences and challenges and shared their solutions from the policy process at their university. Afterwards, (follow-up) questions from the participants were answered and discussed together. The results of this exciting discussion have also been made available and documented on a publicly accessible pad.
Fourth network meeting (November 2023)
The fourth meeting in November 2023 was used to present a guide to the policy implementation process in the community, the so-called OER Policy Kit. The kit was developed by twillo (Silvia Czerwinski, TIB; Yulia Loose, ELAN e.V.) together with colleagues from ORCA.NRW (Irina Hörmann, HS Niederrhein; Frank Homp, Bielefeld University; Stefanie Legler, HS Ruhr West) and Astrid Dreyer, HAWK Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen. It is intended as a comprehensive practical and action guide to support universities in the creation and implementation of their own OER policy. The basis for this is the partly similar, partly different experiences that the authors of the kit have had in the policy process.
The individual chapters of the kit describe the “stages” of the policy implementation process — from writing a draft to publishing an OER policy. It also provides further information and practical tips for implementation. Various templates (OER policy template, mail templates, presentation template) and other additional materials that can be reused, such as handouts, a policy list, etc., are provided as an important supplement.
Valuable feedback on the kit was obtained from the community at the network meeting and subsequently incorporated. The kit is now used by universities throughout Germany alongside the OER policy template.
Fifth network meeting (April 2024)
At the fifth network meeting in April this year, renowned experts were once again on board: Martin Ebner (TU Graz) and Simona Koch (University of Duisburg-Essen) addressed the question of what happens after the adoption of an OER policy. How does an OER policy affect teaching practice and what measures are conducive to OER? At the University of Duisburg-Essen, the OER policy was initiated via the library. At the same time as the policy, it was decided to support the creation of OER with a financial subsidy for student assistants. In addition, a regular OER network meeting was set up for members of the University of Duisburg-Essen, which has been very well received.
OER certificates are awarded at Austrian universities after comprehensive training has been completed. OER can then be published in the university’s own repository. These and other possible measures were discussed with the participants of the network meeting and further questions were documented in the pad.
Support and outlook
In a total of five network meetings, we approached the topic of OER policy from different angles and discussed many aspects with the community.
You can also find out more about the content, opportunities and challenges of an OER policy at a university on our policy website. Here we provide a sample policy that has already been used by some universities. There is also an interactive map showing those universities in Lower Saxony that have either already adopted a policy or are in the process of doing so. A nationwide overview is to be realized in the near future with the OER World Map.
If required, we will organize further thematic exchange meetings. Independently of this, we offer legal support for policy implementation as well as introductory workshops on the topic. If you are interested, simply contact the twillo support or talk to us, e.g. in the open online consultation hour the twillo-Thursday.
Individual advisory, support and workshop services are also offered nationwide. For example, twillo is involved in the area of OER policy as part of the Cooperation Network OER-Promoting Infrastructures and Services(KNOER), in the OER Policy and Governance working group (WG). More information on the working groups and activities is available on the KNOER website: https://kn-oer.de/unsere-themen/#section-arbeitsgruppen.