OER and ACCT in Washington, D.C.
February 10, 2007
I’m in Washington, D.C. today, attending my first meeting as a newly appointed Associate Member of the Association of Community College Trustees’ (ACCT) Public Policy Committee (whew, try typing that sometime). The organization has an important national voice on community college and overall economic development issues. There were, I dunno, maybe 25 people in the room, including a community college friendly deputy assistant Secretary of Education. The meeting was pretty short, though, which surprised me since this important group meets just twice a year. Nonetheless, near the end of a jam-packed 90-minute session, thanks largely to the skill and kindness of Committee Chair Brunswick Community College District (North Carolina) Trustee Lynda Stanley, I was able to formally introduce the committee to Open Education Resources (OER). Next up: getting the subject placed on the agenda for the next committee meeting, in six months, at which time members will be able to review the proceedings of the Federal Advisory Committee on Student Financial Aid’s March 5, 2007 hearing in Santa Clarita, CA, which will include a presentation on OER from me and Foothill-De Anza Chancellor Dr. Martha Kanter. I’m hoping all that will lead the ACCT Public Policy Committee toward endorsing action at the federal level to facilitate and stimulate the use of OER, including by removing unnecessary and counterproductive regulations, when necessary.
And so we continue to push the OER rock up the higher education policy hill, sensing that it is getting ever so much nearer the top. Meanwhile, it’s pretty darn cold here…
