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Texas Toolkit for OER Course Markings (a living guide)

Electronic Schedule Integration

A growing number of institutions integrate OER filters into the university's schedule of classes; many institutions adopt the broader vocabulary of free, zero-cost, affordable, or low-cost resources. This strategy makes OER use highly visible by centering resource costs as a search option for students.

Austin Community College's course schedule has a highly visible, user friendly search filter, as shown below.

Austin Community College's Course Schedule includes a filter for Open Educational Resources/Zero Textbook Cost.

 

Customization of some student information systems can be difficult and/or cost prohibitive, resulting in functionality that isn't intuitive. For example, the University of Texas at Arlington's free and low-cost educational resources are included in a course attribute drop-down menu under advanced search options. Instructions on navigating the schedule of classes to identify free and low-cost educational resources are included in a "Find OER Courses" guide and shared with advisors via a downloadable informational flyer.

From the search screen in UTA's Schedule of Classes, open the Additional Search Criteria options.At the bottom of the screen select "Educational Resources Cost" from the Course Attribute drop-down menu.

ACC and UTA Video Demonstration

This video demonstrates functionality of free and low-cost course markings integrated into the schedule of classes at the University of Texas at Arlington and Austin Community College in compliance with Texas Senate Bill 810.

OER Information for Prospective Students

Institutions also use OER and affordability efforts as a recruiting tool. Maricopa Community Colleges, home of Maricopa Millions, offer a step-by-step guide to finding OER for potential and incoming students, as shown below.

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