The NMU Open Education Resource (OER) Working Group is pleased to announce the second cohort of the OER Faculty Learning Community (FLC).
2024-2025 OER Faculty Working Group
The Faculty Learning Community represents a broad range of academic departments as part of a two-year pilot program to increase OER use across Northern’s campus and provide related professional development opportunities.
The 12 selected faculty members will be guided in adopting, adapting, and/or creating OER materials for their courses. This pilot program is funded through a SISU Innovation Funding grant.
According to Jennifer Donnor, Director of the Olson Library,“This initiative not only reduces costs for our students but also fosters a culture of collaboration and innovation in teaching. By working together to create, adapt, and share high-quality OER materials, the NMU faculty are paving the way for a more accessible and inclusive learning environment. Utilizing OER is a crucial step towards creating a more dynamic academic community.”
The 12 members of the 2024-2025 OER Faculty Learning Community cohort, selected from a competitive application pool, are:
- Lexie Belles, Criminal Justice
- Sarah Carlson, Social Work
- Heng-Hsuan Chu, Biology
- Melissa Copenhaver, Nursing
- Matthew Kilgas, Exercise Science
- Mitchell Klett, Education
- Vikash Kumar, Social Work
- Dawn Lundin, Nursing
- Amy Orf, Languages, Literatures, and International Studies
- James VanOrman, Biology
- Kristen White, Education
- Jongeun You, Political Science
“The "Celebration of Open Education" event, held in March 2024, highlighted the work of the first OER Faculty Learning Community cohort and illustrated the positive impact that OER can have across a variety of disciplines and majors. OER resources not only provide significant (sometimes huge!) cost savings to students, they also allow faculty to curate learning materials that fit their specific courses in ways that commercial textbooks often don't. I am excited that the Center for Teaching and Learning is part of NMU's OER initiative and am looking forward to seeing how the second FLC cohort continues to move NMU's OER adoption forward,” said Matt Smock, Director of NMU’s Center for Teaching and Learning.
NMU's OER Working Group is led by the Lydia M. Olson Library and the Center for Teaching and Learning, with faculty, staff and student representatives. If interested in serving in this group, please contact Emera Bridger Wilson (ebridger@nmu.edu).