Arts

Business

Education

Humanities

Mathematics & Statistics

Science & Technology

Social Science

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Course and eTextbook Selection and Evaluation

The CA-OER Council's survey of faculty across CCC, CSU, and UC identified the major concerns about OER for faculty included the authority, reliability, and peer review of OER textbooks. The CA-OER Council identified 50 highly-enrolled courses that had a common ID number across the three segments and then identified free and open etextbooks that were aligned with the course content and learning objectives (as defined by the CID). Faculty from the three higher education systems were invited (and paid) to perform quality evaluations of the selected etextbooks. All of the peer reviews are available, including the faculty's name and institutional affiliation. The following information describes the process by which the courses and etextbooks were selected and evaluated.

1. Selection of the 50 courses: for the criteria to select the 50 courses, see Course Selection Criteria.
2. Selection of OER Textbooks: OER textbooks to be reviewed in conjunction with each of the 50 courses were selected based on the following criteria: 1) Creative Commons license (CC-BY), if possible; 2) free or low cost ($30 or less); 3) able to be re-mixed, if possible 4) updated regularly; 5) offered in at least 2 different formats (e.g., online/pdf); and 6) maintained in an easily accessible and sustainable environment with a persistent URL.
3. To recommend an OER Textbook that fits the above criteria fill out this Google Form.
4. How to Become a Reviewer: Fill out the faculty survey and indicate that you'd like to review for this project (the last question in the survey). Faculty were contacted with a request for more information. Selected faculty were provide access to all of the textbooks, the review rubric, and a stipend for their reviews ($250/textbook with a minimum of 3 textbook reviews).
5. Selecting Review Panelists: Panelists are drawn from faculty across CCC, CSU, & UC. These reviewers are self-identified based on response to the faculty survey. The selection of reviewers is competitive but is based on a balanced criteria: 1) 1 panelist from each of the 3 segments (CCC, CSU, UC); 2) balance of experience with OER materials; 3) balance of place in the career. The resulting reviews are public along with names & institutions of each faculty member. The reasons for making the reviewers' identities public is discussed in the Reviewer's Bootcamp video.
6. What's Involved in Being a Reviewer? Watch this Reviewer's Bootcamp Video. Take a look at a sample Review Rubric.
7. What if I'm the author of one of the OER Textbooks that has been reviewed? If you have any questions about the review or you have revised/updated your OER textbook since the published review, please contact lkennedy@calstate.edu.

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