Open CourseWare and other open educational resources are beginning to draw the attention of higher education policymakers and other leaders. Why? These web-based educational tools hold the promise of both reducing the cost of high education and helping learners to complete their degrees by providing access to top quality course materials and instruction.
By radically reducing the costs of course content, delivery of instruction, textbooks and related materials these open resources can make college more affordable. Further, by enabling “learning from-anywhere” for students who have work and family obligations, the same technologies provide expanded access to higher education for millions of non-traditional learners.
But how do they work and are they for every kind of student? Does current policy encourage the use of these tools?
Please join the Center for American Progress and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning to explore these and other questions about Open Source Education Resources and how they can impact college affordability and access.
Introductory remarks:
Louis Soares, Director, Postsecondary Education Program, Center for American Progress
Keynote speaker:
Martha Kanter, Under Secretary of Education
Featured presentation:
Steve Carson, External Relations Director, MIT OpenCourseWare
Featured panelists:
Nicole Allen, Textbook Advocate, Student PIRGs; Director, Make Textbooks Affordable
Michael Carroll, Professor of Law, American University’s Washington College of Law
Sally Johnstone, Vice President for Academic Advancement, Western Governors University
Moderated by:
Rebecca Klein-Collins, Director of Research for the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning