[LIBRARYDIR] FW: Using CARES $$$ to support OER Efforts to Alleviate Effects of Pandemic

[Boyoung Chae]

A reading that offers a much needed guidance for using Cares Act fund to support OER efforts.


[sbctc logo]Boyoung Chae, Ph.D.
Policy Associate, Educational Technology & Open Education
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
Openwa.org<openwa.org> | OER & Low-Cost Label<https://www.sbctc.edu/colleges-staff/programs-services/educational-technology-open-education/oer-low-cost-label-implementation.aspx>
bchae at sbctc.edu<mailto:bchae at sbctc.edu> |360-628-3549
Texts Welcome!

From: cccoer-members at googlegroups.com <cccoer-members at googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Una Daly
Sent: Monday, June 1, 2020 6:45 AM
To: CCCOER-Members <cccoer-members at googlegroups.com>
Subject: Using CARES $$$ to support OER Efforts to Alleviate Effects of Pandemic


Dear Members,



Hope you all had a safe & healthy weekend.



The OER Coalition has produced a guidance document for using CARES $$$ to support OER effort<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MSUf0VcR0-aqt1hhJmOrJGpKjuWzZGrCjPyCn1LT0lU/edit>s (comments welcome) to alleviate the effects of the pandemic on students and teachers in school districts and higher education institutions. I have extracted sections specific to community/technical colleges and post-secondary institutions below.  Please share this important information with other decision-makers at your institutions/organizations.

The CARES Act (P.L. 116-136) provides $30.75 billion in emergency aid to help early learning providers, elementary and secondary schools, postsecondary institutions, and students address the COVID-19 pandemic. This dedicated education funding is divided among three programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education:



●      The $3 billion Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund may be used by governors to help the school districts and institutions of higher education that have been “most significantly impacted” by the pandemic to help them continue providing educational services and to support institutions “on-going functionality”, and to support any other institution of higher education, school district, or “education-related entity” that the “Governor deems essential for carrying out emergency educational service”. (P.L. 116-136, §18002);



●     The $13.5 billion Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund may be used by school districts or state education agencies for a wide array of purposes, including all activities authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the
the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, among other allowable uses (P.L. 116-136, §18003).



●     The $14.25 billion Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund is divided evenly between institutions and students. Institutions’ share of the funding may be used to “cover any costs associated with significant changes to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus...”. The student funding must be allocated in the form of emergency financial aid grants for “expenses related to the disruption of campus operations”. (P.L. 116-136, §18004)



Congress designed the CARES Act’s education relief provisions to provide education leaders with significant flexibility to meet their students’ learning and other needs.  As you continue working to address students’ needs during the emergency - and prepare for the expected slow transition back to classroom-based instruction - we encourage you to consider the following ideas for using CARES Act funding to acquire and use student- and teacher-friendly OER.  Now, more than ever, students need access to high-quality learning materials and OER can help districts meet that need in an effective and prudent way during this time of significantly declining state and local revenues



●     Train Teachers to use OER for Online Learning. At the postsecondary level, Governor’s Relief Funding could be used for salary for staff trainers to work with faculty and administrators or stipends for faculty to adopt OER.



●     Encourage Greater OER Use in Higher Education. Postsecondary institutions should consider using their CARES Act funding to facilitate the adoption and use of open textbooks on their campuses. Institutions may use the institutional share of CARES Act higher education funding to cover “any costs associated with significant changes to the delivery of instruction.” With millions of students now forced to learn from home and with many campuses expected to continue significant online learning during the next school year, institutions should consider adopting and using digital OER as a way to support cost-effective online and classroom instruction. This strategy would save money for institutions, and would allow students to put their CARES Act funding toward more urgent needs, such as food and housing.



State and local leaders who are interested in using OER as a tool for helping their students progress during the emergency should consider adopting these ideas. We also encourage decision-makers to learn more about other elementary, secondary, and postsecondary OER initiatives underway nationally including, for example, the ESSA, Title IV-A consortia and Institute for Museum and Libraries (IMLS), to explore other innovative ideas that might align well with their educational goals.


Best Regards,
Una

--
Una Daly
Director, CCCOER
Open Education Global
https://www.cccoer.org
unatdaly at oeglobal.org<mailto:unatdaly at oeglobal.org>
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