Here I am, April 2023, starting my second last course in the open education program and here is my first assignment blog post for the course, on Open Ed Policy and Leadership.

This week I am asked to contribute 300-500 words that express my views on the role of policy in fostering open education. I need to draw on examples from my experience and support my writing with examples from the course content (readings, videos, forums etc.)

What to say about institutional policy? I agree with Cox and Trotter (in Institutional Culture and OER Policy: How Structure, Culture, and Agency Mediate OER Policy Potential in South African Universities) that institutional culture is key in understanding not only the potential role policy could have with regards to the uptake of Open Education but also key in understanding what “policy” actually is and what it is not at the institution. For example, at my institution the definition of “policy” is limited – anything that steps outside of that definition might be a Policy Informed Directive, or just a recommended or Director-approved process within a unit. While we have a limited number of policies (in fact, we have recently been told that we have enough policies) there are a LOT of them and they govern very specific, but at the same time kind of general, things. For example, we have a set of policies for Governance (example, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion policy), for Education (example Quality Assurance and Final Grade Appeals), and for Operations (example, Respect in the Workplace).

What I see potentially happening at my institution is what is recommended by Cox and Trotter for some institutions: that Open Ed becomes a part of existing policy, either overtly or in interpretation. For example, in the Education Approvals policy, I could see a piece being added about flexibility or openness of the course, referring to the way a program could support students in achieving the credential.

At my institution (which I see as Bureaucratic, with Managerial tendencies, masquerading as Collegial, in the terms laid out by Cox and Trotter), policy is generally seen as top down, and even in an institution like mine that “consults” on policy, SO many voices are left out of the consultation to make it lip service. That is my point of view, although I have heard this sentiment from others. The problem I see if Open Ed becomes policy at my institution, then faculty may see it as something else that they HAVE to do (in addition to Indigenization, Accommodation, Equity/Diversity/Inclusion, etc.), and if there is no support built into the initiatives listed in the policy, then how on earth do faculty do the work and who helps them? Creating policy does not mean everyone will line up to do the work, even if they are able to.

What I think needs to be done to foster Open Ed initiatives at my institution is for leadership to LISTEN to and TALK to others at the institution already doing the work, and think carefully about the challenges those people have faced and continue to face before making sweeping policy and expectations around increasing the #s of courses using Open Textbooks, for example. There needs to be a consulting group consisting of people from across the college from all levels – from staff to faculty to students to leadership, and even the board.

But most importantly there needs to be at least one person who is dedicated to supporting Open Education at the institution, who has the ear and support of leadership for collaborating across the college, promoting and creating Open Ed initiatives, and organizing support for faculty and students for the Open Ed work they want to do. If you don’t have at least one person with a clear vision and strong support from leadership, initiatives will come and go, will start and peter out, will stay with one small group of people who want to do the work and then die when those people leave the institution. It must rest with a position NOT a person, although the person in that position needs to be passionate about what Open Ed can do for the institution and everyone associated with it.