Textbook Hero

When students came to the library looking for their course textbooks because they couldn’t afford to buy them, Capital Community College’s Director of Library Services Eileen Rhodes started promoting Open Educational Resources (OER). “This became a passion of mine, as I saw…the relief on students’ faces when I informed them that their book was available online for free,” she says. “One of my students was so ecstatic, she commented that she would be able to take more courses because she could actually afford it.”

A member of Connecticut’s Statewide OER Planning Council, contributor to the statewide OER summit and OER Grant Program, and member of the Sustainability Committee of the Regional leaders of Open Education, Rhodes has been instrumental in making Connecticut one of 20 “GoOpen” states. She was also key to the creation of OpenCSCU, a website that allows faculty to locate OER materials for their courses. To date, the site has received over 7,000 views. Future plans include listing the OER currently used by faculty, so those who want to switch can consult someone who has relevant experience. Rhodes also produced a series of videos explaining the value of adopting OER materials, which can be found on YouTube under OER Textbook Heroes.

Rhodes also advocated for the development of Connecticut’s NoLo (no cost or low cost) initiative, adopted by 10 of the state’s community colleges. It allows students to determine whether a course’s materials will cost $40 or less by identifying affordable courses with a NoLo tag. To date, more than 500 course sections are tagged NoLo, with more than 9,000 enrollments.