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<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Today, the U.S. Department of Education released
</span><a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/heerf-support-basic-needs-final.pdf?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=" title="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/heerf-support-basic-needs-final.pdf?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=" style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">new
guidance for the use of COVID emergency funds</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> allocated to colleges and universities under the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF I-III). </span><br>
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The Department’s <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/heerf-support-basic-needs-final.pdf?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=" title="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/heerf-support-basic-needs-final.pdf?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=">
FAQ </a>document (page 3) outlines a set of activities that are considered allowable uses of HEERF dollars, and OER is explicitly mentioned as one of the strategies to meet students’ basic needs during the pandemic.
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<span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><b>SPARC</b> has published a new blog post highlighting how campuses are using HEERF and other COVID relief funds for OER activities that reduce textbook costs, expand access to materials,
and support remote learning. Please take a look:</span><br>
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<span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><a href="https://sparcopen.org/news/2022/leveraging-oer-to-meet-student-basic-needs-with-covid-relief-dollars/" title="https://sparcopen.org/news/2022/leveraging-oer-to-meet-student-basic-needs-with-covid-relief-dollars/"><b>Leveraging
OER to Meet Student Basic Needs with COVID Relief Dollars</b><br>
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Boyoung</div>
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<span style="margin:0px"><b><span style="margin:0px; font-family:Candara,Optima,sans-serif">Boyoung Chae, Ph.D.</span><span style="margin:0px; font-family:Ebrima"><span style="margin:0px; font-family:Candara,Optima,sans-serif"> </span></span></b></span></p>
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<span style="margin:0px"></span><span style="margin:0px"><i><span style="margin:0px; font-family:Ebrima">Pronouns: she, her, hers</span><span style="margin:0px; font-size:10pt; font-family:Ebrima"><span style="margin:0px; font-size:11pt"> </span></span></i></span></p>
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<span style="margin:0px"></span><span style="margin:0px"><span style="margin:0px; font-family:Ebrima">Policy Associate, Educational Technology & Open Education</span><span style="margin:0px; font-size:10pt; font-family:Ebrima"><span style="margin:0px; font-size:11pt"> </span></span></span></p>
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<span style="margin:0px"></span><span style="margin:0px"><span style="margin:0px; font-family:Ebrima">Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges</span><span style="margin:0px; font-size:10pt; font-family:Ebrima"><span style="margin:0px; font-size:11pt"> </span></span></span></p>
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<span style="margin:0px"></span><span style="margin:0px"></span><span style="margin:0px"><span style="margin:0px; font-family:Ebrima; color:rgb(5,99,193)"><a href="http://www.openwa.org/" title="http://www.openwa.org/" style="margin:0px">Openwa.org</a></span></span><span style="margin:0px"></span><span style="margin:0px"><span style="margin:0px; font-family:Ebrima"><span> </span>|<span> </span></span></span><span style="margin:0px"></span><a href="https://www.sbctc.edu/colleges-staff/programs-services/educational-technology-open-education/oer-low-cost-label-implementation.aspx" style="margin:0px"><span style="margin:0px"><span style="margin:0px; font-family:Ebrima; color:rgb(5,99,193)">OER
& Low-Cost Label</span></span><span style="margin:0px"></span></a><span style="margin:0px"><span style="margin:0px; font-size:10pt; font-family:Ebrima"><span style="margin:0px; font-size:11pt"> </span></span></span></p>
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<span style="margin:0px"></span><span style="margin:0px"></span><a href="mailto:bchae@sbctc.edu" style="margin:0px"><span style="margin:0px"><span style="margin:0px; font-family:Ebrima; color:rgb(5,99,193)">bchae@sbctc.edu</span></span><span style="margin:0px"></span></a><span style="margin:0px"><span style="margin:0px"><span> </span>|</span></span><span style="margin:0px"><span style="margin:0px; font-family:Ebrima">360-628-3549</span></span></p>
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<div id="x_divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="font-size:11pt"><b>From:</b> Nicole Allen <nicole@sparcopen.org><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, January 20, 2022 11:33 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> SPARC Members <sparc-members@sparcopen.org><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [SPARC] New U.S. Dept. of Ed. COVID Relief Guidance Supports OER</font>
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<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0); background-color:transparent; font-variant-numeric:normal; font-variant-east-asian:normal; vertical-align:baseline; white-space:pre-wrap">Dear SPARC members,</span></p>
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<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0); background-color:transparent; font-variant-numeric:normal; font-variant-east-asian:normal; vertical-align:baseline; white-space:pre-wrap">Today, the U.S. Department of Education
</span><a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/biden-harris-administration-takes-actions-support-students%E2%80%99-basic-needs-and-mitigate-spread-covid-19-colleges-and-universities" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="background-color:transparent; font-variant-numeric:normal; font-variant-east-asian:normal; text-decoration-line:underline; vertical-align:baseline; white-space:pre-wrap">released</span></a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0); background-color:transparent; font-variant-numeric:normal; font-variant-east-asian:normal; vertical-align:baseline; white-space:pre-wrap">
new guidance for the use of COVID emergency funds allocated to colleges and universities under the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF I-III). The Department’s
</span><a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/heerf-support-basic-needs-final.pdf?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="background-color:transparent; font-variant-numeric:normal; font-variant-east-asian:normal; text-decoration-line:underline; vertical-align:baseline; white-space:pre-wrap">FAQ
document</span></a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0); background-color:transparent; font-variant-numeric:normal; font-variant-east-asian:normal; vertical-align:baseline; white-space:pre-wrap"> outlines a set of activities that are considered allowable uses of
HEERF dollars, and OER is explicitly mentioned as one of the strategies to meet students’ basic needs during the pandemic. </span></p>
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<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0); background-color:transparent; font-variant-numeric:normal; font-variant-east-asian:normal; vertical-align:baseline; white-space:pre-wrap">From page 3 of the
</span><a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/heerf-support-basic-needs-final.pdf?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="background-color:transparent; font-variant-numeric:normal; font-variant-east-asian:normal; text-decoration-line:underline; vertical-align:baseline; white-space:pre-wrap">Department’s
January 20, 2022 FAQ on HEERF funds</span></a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0); background-color:transparent; font-variant-numeric:normal; font-variant-east-asian:normal; vertical-align:baseline; white-space:pre-wrap">:</span></p>
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<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0); background-color:transparent; font-style:italic; font-variant-numeric:normal; font-variant-east-asian:normal; vertical-align:baseline; white-space:pre-wrap">Institutions seeking to provide high-quality, free textbooks and supplies
to their students can use their HEERF grant funds to establish a library or program of Open Educational Resources (OER) or form a partnership with an existing OER platform.</span></p>
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<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0); background-color:transparent; font-variant-numeric:normal; font-variant-east-asian:normal; vertical-align:baseline; white-space:pre-wrap">Some institutions have already invested COVID relief funds in OER programs, and the Department’s
explicit guidance opens the door for more efforts to leverage OER as a strategy to ensure all students have access to course materials. Virtually all U.S. institutions have received HEERF funds, and many are still spending them down, so now is an excellent
time to contact your administration with a proposal for one-time OER funding.</span></p>
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<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0); background-color:transparent; font-variant-numeric:normal; font-variant-east-asian:normal; vertical-align:baseline; white-space:pre-wrap">SPARC applauds the Department for including OER in this guidance, and especially appreciates
that OER is framed as an impactful way to build long-term capacity for meeting basic student needs. As we enter year three of the pandemic, it is not enough to think about offsetting textbook costs one semester at a time—institutions must consider how to leverage
strategies like OER that are more resilient, sustainable, and benefit students year after year.</span></p>
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<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0); background-color:transparent; font-variant-numeric:normal; font-variant-east-asian:normal; vertical-align:baseline; white-space:pre-wrap">SPARC has
<a href="https://sparcopen.org/news/2022/leveraging-oer-to-meet-student-basic-needs-with-covid-relief-dollars/">
published a new blog post</a> highlighting how campuses are using HEERF and other COVID relief funds for OER activities that reduce textbook costs, expand access to materials, and support remote learning. Please share it widely.</span></p>
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<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0); background-color:transparent; font-variant-numeric:normal; font-variant-east-asian:normal; vertical-align:baseline; white-space:pre-wrap">We would like to thank everyone who previously responded to our call for examples of COVID
relief funded projects, and we encourage you to let us know about any not captured in the post. </span></p>
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<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0); background-color:transparent; font-variant-numeric:normal; font-variant-east-asian:normal; vertical-align:baseline; white-space:pre-wrap">Cheers,</span></p>
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<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0); background-color:transparent; font-variant-numeric:normal; font-variant-east-asian:normal; vertical-align:baseline; white-space:pre-wrap">Nicole</span></p>
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<div><font face="arial, sans-serif">Nicole Starr Allen<br>
<a href="http://www.sparcopen.org/" target="_blank">SPARC</a> | Director of Open Education<br>
<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">1201 Connecticut Ave NW, #608<br>
Washington, DC 20036 USA<br>
</span>+1 (202) 750-1637<br>
<a href="mailto:nicole@sparcopen.org" target="_blank">nicole@sparcopen.org</a><br>
<a href="http://twitter.com/txtbks" target="_blank">@txtbks</a><br>
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