An Implementation Model for Open Licensing Policy:

A Case of Washington Community and Technical Colleges System

Boyoung Chae & Mark JenkinsWashington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges

Background

• SBCTC Strategic Technology Plan“We will cultivate the culture and practice of using and contributing to open educational resources”

“Whenever possible, eliminate published textbooks in favor of free, open, online materials”

Background

• Open Licensing Policy“All digital software, educational resources and knowledge produced through competitive grants, offered through or managed by SBCTC, will carry a Creative Commons Attributions license."

• Each grant project hires open licensing experts and assigns them to each grant cohort.

• Open licensing experts – clear the copyright permissions for all materials

produced, – assume responsibility for releasing the end-products

under a Creative Commons Attribution License, and– provide individualized guidance for grantees in finding

and adopting OER

Initial Implementation Plan:Strategies

• Participants’ lack of understanding about open licensing created significant difficulty in communication.

• Grantees need an OER guide with samples, template, and rubric.

• CC BY licensing requirements need to be communicated properly before and during the grant application process.

Initial Implementation Plan:Lessons

Revised Implementation Plan:Strategies

• Require grantees to complete training on how to find and apply open educational resources.

• Integrate CC BY licensing requirement into the grant application process.

• Provide a customized OER guide with samples, templates, and rubrics.

• Provide ongoing support from training to counseling to troubleshooting.

• Each unit in the Education division is responsible for releasing work under CC BY.

• SBCTC eLearning unit provides support (training, consultation, and troubleshooting).

• All divisional units designate staff to be responsible for the open licensing of grant-funded work.

• Instead of one agency repository for all resources, multiple options will be offered.

Revised Implementation Plan:Guidelines

Revised Implementation Plan: Recommended Steps

Step 1. Getting Ready• Review the guidelines on the Open Licensing

Policy Implementation webpage. • Complete “How to Use OER”, a 2-week online

training course provided by SBCTC eLearning & Open Education.

Revised Implementation Plan: Recommended Steps

Step 2. Contracting• Create a license statement and copyright

statement and add them to contracts, grant agreements, and/or Online Grants Management System.

• Provide a grant guide that includes the information about the CC licensing requirement.

Revised Implementation Plan: Recommended Steps

Step 3. Training• Organize an OER training opportunity for all

grantees to help them understand the CC licensing requirement.

Revised Implementation Plan: Recommended Steps

Step 4. Sharing• Ensure that grantees create digital artifacts that can be

shared. • Store the materials in one of the places below or a

place easily accessible to the public.– Open Washington Canvas Commons– Open Washington YouTube Channel– Open Washington Vimeo Channel– Open Washington Google Drive

• Add the licensing statement in the chosen repository.

Revised Implementation Plan: Recommended Steps

Step 5. Reporting• Fill out the online Open Policy Reporting form

with the link to the digital artifact and type of license. This information will be published on the Open Policy Implementation page.

Current Status

• In 2014-15, SBCTC gave out over 120 competitive awards totaling more than $17,500,000

• Revised model has been applied to each of them. Most projects are at the development stage.

• Project managers reported that this implementation model helped the participants properly apply the CC BY license to their work.

Challenges

• Differences in each division’s– perception toward grant management– level of experience in technology– types of grant managed– expectations toward the grantee’s role

Questions?

• Mark JenkinsDirector, eLearning and Open EducationWashington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges mjenkins@sbctc.edu

• Boyoung ChaePolicy Associate, eLearning and Open EducationWashington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges bchae@sbctc.edu