Tacoma Community College Library: TCC Library: Accreditation 2021

Library-related Accreditation Standards

1.C.6 Consistent with its mission, the institution establishes and assesses student learning outcomes (or core competencies) such as effective communication, scientific and quantitative reasoning, critical analysis and logical thinking, problem solving, and information literacy for all programs.

The full narrative for the Library piece to 1.C.6 is as follows:

The TCC Library provides robust instruction and assessment for information literacy across the curriculum.

The Library’s information literacy instruction closely connects to TCC’s Degree Learning Outcomes (DLOs) in the Cultivate Learning core theme: Information and Information Technology (IIT), Responsibility and Ethics (RES), Communication (COM), and Critical Thinking and Problem Solving (CRT).

The IIT DLO is defined as the ability to “locate, evaluate, retrieve, and ethically use relevant and current information of appropriate authority for both academic and professional/technical applications.” Faculty librarians work with disciplinary faculty to integrate this competency into instructional programs, assignment-specific instructional sessions, individual courses, and on-line tutorials and services.

Notably, the RES DLO highlights work around source integration and avoiding plagiarism. DLO assessment shows that proper source integration is one of the skills related to IIT and RES in which students are the weakest. The Library addresses these skills in its instruction. (Appendix: PLO revision 2015)

In-depth research instruction classes (often referred to as one-shots) are one of the primary ways that librarians teach information literacy across the curriculum. Faculty librarians taught 200.75 research instruction class sessions in 2018-19. In the most recent surveys completed, 63.08% of students who attended TCC for two quarters or more reported attending at least one library instruction session. 79.03% of those students noted that the sessions were extremely or very helpful.

To accompany each research instruction class, librarians create in-depth research guides, referred to as Libguides. Libguides are aligned with course outcomes and tailored to specific assignments in order to address specific information literacy needs. Libguide use has increased dramatically each year since the Library adopted its use in 2012-13. In Fall 2018, for example, Libguides were used 29,347 times compared with Fall 2019 usage of 44,746 times, and for the entire year of 2018-19 usage increased by nearly 45% of the previous year. Overall, since 2013-14, Libguide use has increased every year (Appendix Longitudinal Libguides Stats).

Librarians collaborate with faculty teaching online courses in Canvas to teach information literacy skills. These collaborations often involve developing specific information literacy modules that are aligned with course and assignment outcomes. Librarians will often participate in the discussion forum of a specific class to interact with students on module content. Libguides are used extensively in Canvas and can be embedded directly onto a Canvas page for easy access to students and faculty.

In order to scale information literacy instruction to English 101, the Library has (or will have by the time of visit) developed information literacy online modules aligned with Eng 101 outcomes for those sections of English 101 with which the librarians do not teach in-person workshops. Eng 101 is required of all degree-seeking students at TCC and will be an important part of all college pathways. In Fall 2019, the college offered up to 26 sections of Eng 101. While faculty librarians teach many in-person research instruction classes for English 101, online modules allow the Library to reach every section of English 101, widening the reach and efficacy of information literacy instruction and the meeting of the IIT, RES, COM, and CRT DLOs while also inserting the Library strongly in the college’s pathways. A combination of face-to-face instruction and online modules will allow the library to reach all Eng 101 sections and impact more consistently student success in the pathway model. So far, comments from both students and faculty reflect the impact of online modules and tools created by librarians for Eng 101. One student in Fall 2019 Eng 101 class commented: “I find this assignment help [sic], because I’m now able to search for a general topic and pinpoint a topic I want through reference materials.” In addition, the teacher for that class commented, “We are fortunate to have a librarian working with our class as we move through our research project. Our librarian made a special libguide just for us, which focuses on the tools you will need to complete your research projects this quarter.”

The Library teaches a variety of credit courses in Information Literacy of which the outcomes map directly to the IIT, RES, COM, and CRT degree learning outcomes. Librarians teach LS 101: Introduction to Research Skills, LS 102: Research for Writing in the Disciplines, as well as LS 301 courses that focus on and teach information literacy in three of the four BAS programs at TCC: Health Information Management (HIM), Applied Management, and IT. These LS 301 courses all follow and meet expectations for information literacy in the Library Services for BAS Rubric, a state-wide endorsed rubric for library support of BAS programs (Appendix Library Rubric for BAS Degrees).

LS 301 is a required course for all students in the HIM BAS program. It has been offered since 2014 during students’ second quarter in the program (winter quarter). Data shows that the average aggregate score for achievement of all course learning outcomes (CLOs) in LS 301 is between a 2, the developing level, and a 3, the accomplished level. This is where we would expect and hope for these students to be. As this is the beginning of students’ BAS journey, and information literacy skills are developed iteratively over time, we would expect these students to continue to apply and develop these skills throughout their time in the program. In addition, student satisfaction in this course has been consistently high, with an average aggregate score of 3.88 on a scale of 1 to 4 (best), for all criteria on the End of Course (EoC) surveys. Comments such as, “She opened up a whole new world for me when it comes to researching sources. I wish that I had taken this course when I first began taking classes at TCC! It would have lessened the frustration and anxiety associated with doing research papers” have been common on these surveys, as well as in feedback solicited from students by the instructor. Because of such feedback, the course is now being offered in fall, when students first begin the HIM program.

The mid-year accreditation report at TCC highlighted the Library Program as a “Representative example of Mission and Strategic Plan fulfillment” (Appendix PLO Revision 2015). The report focuses on the Library Program’s Master Assessment Plan (Appendix Library Master Assessment Plan), as well as, its assessment of student learning, in particular TCC’s former core theme of Create Learning, its objective of Program Level Student Learning Outcomes, and its core indicator of Develop and Assess Student Learning Outcomes. Librarians conducted an in-depth study of LS 101 course learning outcomes and used the results to revise those outcomes, using Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy and the Association of College & Research Library’s Information Literacy Framework, which provides a framework of information literacy threshold concepts for mastering information literacy. The entire LS 101 curriculum was then redesigned, including a move away from pre-test/post-test model of assessment towards using the Learning Mastery tool in Canvas to track student achievement in an authentic, transparent, embedded, and real-time manner. Because of the redesign, student performance has improved, and the average aggregate score for all course learning outcomes outcomes (CLOs) is now between a two, the developing level, and a three, the accomplished level. This is about where we would expect and hope for these students to be. According to Civitas data (Illume Courses), most students typically take LS 101 in their first year at TCC. Since information literacy skills are developed iteratively over time, we would expect these students to continue to apply and develop these skills throughout their time at TCC.

LS 101 and LS 102 are also taught as part of TCC’s Learning Communities, pairing with classes such as English 101 and Psychology 200.

Faculty librarians teach information literacy at the Library’s Reference Desk. Librarians are available at all library open hours to work with students on research questions and projects. Librarians assess these interactions using software and a rubric that categorizes the nature of reference consultations with students. The Library considers reference work to be a form of information literacy instruction, teaching students the research process that is mirrored in the information literacy-rich IIT, RES, COM, and CRT DLOs. Reference desk statistics show that the total number of reference desk interactions has remained relatively flat for the last five years, but, when compared to student FTE, we have actually seen an increase in the number of reference desk interactions relative to student FTE. Annually, librarians answer an average of 1382 questions; quarterly, librarians answer an average of 416 questions. These questions are primarily related to students’ academic research and to technology (i.e. printing, connecting to the wireless network, etc.). In the most recent student survey, 88.41% of respondents who had a reference consultation indicated that they found the experience essential or very helpful.

Students value the information literacy instruction they receive from librarians. From pre-test/post-test assessments, surveys, and anecdotal evidence gathered from students and faculty, it is clear that assignment-orientated instructional sessions, quarter-long LS courses and reference desk interactions build student competencies and confidence with the research process. Comments from the 2018-19 student survey, the most recent, include:

All three of my experiences with TCC librarians in-class were extremely helpful as I learned to navigate the online databases and to thoroughly check my resources for the information necessary to my work. Being somewhat inept with technology, I was very glad to receive the aid that they offered.
The library database classes should be mandatory for first quarter students. I wish I had this first quarter instead of last.
The librarian set up a reference link with relevant material for a botany class - very helpful!
I like having a direction to go in with my projects
Learning operator commands was a huge help in all areas of life!

2.G.1 Consistent with the nature of its educational programs and methods of delivery, and with a particular focus on equity and the closure of equity gaps in achievement, the institution creates effective learning environments with appropriate programs and services to support student learning needs.

Library services, instruction, and learning environments focus on equity and the closure of equity gaps. The Library sets the tone for this work through its mission, extending a philosophy of ‘Open’ through teaching, conversation, and community. It accomplishes this by: teaching and promoting information literacy; collecting and providing access to relevant and diverse academic resources; providing a welcoming and supportive environment for students, faculty, and staff; demonstrating through all library services and resources an openness to and ability to engage with divergent perspectives; and employing a range of open information practices, like OER, open licensing, and open pedagogy. These elements together create an effective learning environment that supports student learning needs and connects with many of TCC’s core themes, including Advancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

The Library’s Open Educational Resources (OER) work is one of its most impactful and equity-focused services for students and the college overall. The Library co-leads, along with eLearning, the OER program at TCC which saves students an average of $1 million per year. The OER Librarian works closely with other campus stakeholders to accomplish this, including faculty, eLearning, other librarians, staff, and students. The librarian is a critical member of the eLearning’s OER course design team, and she works closely with faculty outside of that structure, providing critical OER resource and licensing support. During Fall, Winter, and Spring 2018-2019, the OER Librarian recorded 300 questions and consultations with students and faculty concerning OER. These consultations consisted of, for example, OER presentations in specific classes, work with faculty to develop specific OER pieces to their classes, or questions from students about OER assignments in specific classes. The OER Librarian’s collaborations and consultations with faculty during the summer term has increased steadily since her arrival in 2016-17, underlining the importance of stable, dependable, year-round support for OER course development. The Librarian supported 35 courses in Summer 2019 – a 52% increase from Summer 2017, her first summer in this position. Twenty-three of those courses were outside of the planned OER course revision stipend, highlighting the position’s importance in both formal and informal support structures. In addition, she developed 60 OER subject guides in the summer term (a 650% increase since 2017).

As mentioned in standard 1.C.6, faculty librarians collaborate with discipline faculty to teach across the curriculum and design research assignments that are effective for teaching information literacy skills and making use of TCC’s range of resources.

The Library also provides a wide range of services within the library for students. In a typical quarter, library faculty and staff answer an average of 416 questions at the Research Desk, ranging from simple technology questions to complex research questions, all of which present instructional opportunities. The circulation/front desk transactions involved checkout of textbook reserves and laptops, typically by students who could not or chose not to purchase their own. In particular, the Library checks out laptops to students, 17 of which checkout for 3 days. This is a popular service among students - laptops are in high demand. Since the Library just started this program, use statistics are not yet available. However, accreditors may ask for the most recent stats on their visit. Over the next few years, the Library would like to expand this service by adding more laptops available for checkout.

The Library’s website provides support for students accessing library resources but also for direction in how to use the library and its resources. The “How do I…” guide on the Library’s website provide that support with a simple and clear interface for students that may not be able to come to the library in person. Likewise, off-site students can always obtain reference support through the library’s 24/7 chat, a service offered by the state of Washington in which a librarian is always available to answer questions. TCC Librarians participate in that program up to two hours a week.

The Library’s equity-based mission of ‘openness’ reaches far beyond work with OER and applies to its physical learning environment. The mission has inspired its staff and faculty to make positive changes for students. In 2017-18 the Library and Archives led a campus-wide project to create a student-envisioned mural in the library. The Library Director and Archivist worked closely with students to create the mural themes of growth, connection, and openness. Faculty, staff, and community members provided further feedback on designs. The mural was completed in summer 2018 with student signatures on the bottom. It spans approximately 1,000 square feet and is openly licensed with a Creative Commons license, mirroring the Library’s practice of openly licensing all its learning objects.

Comments from the 2018-19 student survey concerning the library’s open and inviting environment include (Appendix Library Student Survey Results Summary 18-19):

Introvert safe space
I additionally use the library as one of my “quiet places” on campus. An area that one can retreat to when one feels overwhelmed by life as a college student is a wonderful place indeed, especially when said place holds many sources of knowledge.
The library is a great escape from campus chaos also! It's always mellow in there and they don't permit screeching, which I am thankful for.
One of the places that I found to learn to chill when my ADHD,& Bi Polar 1 with Mania rears its ugly head. A place I feel safe and I hope that other sufferers can be themselves in a good and safe way.

Library staff also changed the Research Desk configuration and location in 2016 by placing it more into the physical flow of students. In spring 2019, the Library began collaborating with the Writing & Tutoring Center by staffing the Research Desk with a writing tutor in the afternoon hours.

Library Student Survey Results Summary 18-19

2.H.1 Consistent with its mission, the institution employs qualified personnel and provides access to library and information resources with an appropriate level of currency, depth, and breadth sufficient to support and sustain the institution’s mission, programs, and services.

TCC librarians are committed to providing authoritative and up-to-date content, and they provide access to that content through extensive print and digital resources, including Open Educational Resources. Faculty librarians, all with Master of Library and Information Science degrees, conduct ongoing collection development with guidance provided by instructors across the curriculum. Collection decisions are made in response to clearly anticipated needs and are guided by a comprehensive set of policies and principles outlined in the library’s Collection Development Policy (Appendix Collection Development Policy.docx).

The Library’s Open Educational Resources (OER) work is one of its most impactful and equity-focused services and information resources for students and the college overall. The Library co-leads, along with eLearning, the OER program that saves students an average of $1 million per year. The OER Librarian works closely with other campus stakeholders to accomplish this, including faculty, eLearning, other librarians, staff, and students. The librarian is a critical member of the eLearning’s OER course design team, and she works closely with faculty outside of that structure, providing OER resource development and licensing support - key in supporting and sustaining the institution’s mission, programs, and services. To provide a snapshot of data, during Fall, Winter, and Spring 2018-2019, the OER Librarian recorded 300 questions and consultations with students and faculty concerning OER. These consultations consisted of, for example, OER presentations in specific classes, work with faculty to develop specific OER pieces to their classes, or questions from students about OER assignments in specific classes. The OER Librarian’s collaborations and consultations with faculty during the summer term has increased steadily since her arrival in 2016-17, underlining the importance of stable, dependable, year-round support for OER course and resource development. The Librarian supported 35 courses in Summer 2019 – a 52% increase from Summer 2017, her first summer in this position. Twenty-three of those courses were outside of the planned OER course revision stipend, highlighting the position’s importance in both formal and informal support structures. In addition, she developed 60 OER subject guides in the summer term (a 650% increase since 2017).

As for the library's print and digital collections, in 2017-18, library expenditures at TCC were $981,859 or 2.2% of overall college expenditures. That amount was 4% under the state-wide average of 2.6%. $161,049 of library expenditures was devoted to content in 2017-18, representing an annual investment of $26 per FTE. Despite being under the state-wide average for funding, this is a notable improvement from 2013-14 when only $78,290 was devoted to content and currently represents an annual investment of $12.62 per FTE. Since 2013-14, the Library successfully advocated for and received more funding to boost its collection spending, noting that it was significantly underfunded when compared to other peer-funded institutions in the WA CTC system.

As of fall 2019, the library owns 31,317 titles in its print book collection while providing access to 147,057 electronic books. In the 2019-20 conspectus report, which analyzed the library’s book collection by subject area, the average publication date was 1998 for the print book collection, 2007 for the e-book collection, and 2005 for the entire collection. By fall 2019, the Library’s expanding e-book collection represented more than three-quarters of the library’s book collection and, over the course of seven years, has played a role in improving the currency of the entire collection from an average publication date of 1981 to 2005.

The usage data reflects the need to invest heavily in digital resources versus print. Circulation of the print book collection has fallen steadily over the years. Use of the Library’s digital collection, however, has skyrocketed. Over the four-year period 2013-17, downloads increased from 49,137 to 575,995.

Two-hour textbook reserves represent an increasingly large proportion of print book circulation, doubling in size over the last five years. During 2013-17, circulation of the library’s print magazine collection decreased by 79% as the collection size decreased, while use of online periodical databases soared. 2018-2019 saw a total digital circulation of 578,904 downloads.

Digital formats represent an increasing proportion of the library's content purchases and account for more than 50% of its operating expenditures for content. Since 2014, sizable investments have been made in the electronic book collection and research databases. The library conducted environmental scans of WA CTC libraries over several years that showed the TCC Library underfunded for resources compared with peer institutions. Plus, biennial survey results from both faculty and students rated the importance of electronic resources high but satisfaction with the breadth of the library’s electronic resources lower. Based on this data, in the 2013-14 academic year, the library requested and received increased funding for electronic resources: $45,000 over a three-year period. The money is now a part of the library’s permanent budget. The funds allowed the library to fund electronic sources more robustly and move away from having outside departments fund specific databases due to a lack of funding on the library’s part.

During the 2018-19 academic year, the library received an additional $10,000 to meet the growing demands for streaming video. With the increased number of courses being taught online, demand for streaming video that are both accessible and copyright compliant sky-rocketed.

To further support the college's curriculum, Librarians also create in-depth research guides, referred to as Libguides. Libguides are an important resource in the Library’s collection. They are aligned with course outcomes and tailored to specific assignments in order to address specific information literacy needs. Libguide use has increased dramatically each year since the Library adopted its use in 2012-13. In fall 2018, for example, Libguides were used 29,347 times compared with fall 2019 usage of 44,746 times, and for the entire year of 2018-19, usage increased by nearly 45% of the previous year. Overall, since 2013-14, Libguide use has increased every year (Appendix Library Longitudinal LibGuide stats.xlsx).

The Library sits on the campus-wide BAS degree committee, and it works closely with the administration and faculty in each BAS degree offered at TCC to ensure a collection of currency, depth, and breadth. Each BAS degree’s budget includes funds to purchase relevant resources for that degree. We have built relevant collections, primarily with online databases, for the degrees of Health & Information Management, Applied Management, and Community Health, using the BAS Library Services Rubric as guidance, a rubric developed by and for WA CTC Libraries to develop collections and services for BAS programs (Appendix Library Rubric for BAS Degrees.pdf). A new BAS rubric for library services is currently being developed by WA CTC Libraries to better reflect the most current accreditation standards.

TCC faculty librarians assess the effectiveness of the library’s collections by studying data and reflecting on interactions at the reference desk, in the classroom, and with faculty in bi-annual surveys, liaison subject areas, informal conversations, and forums (Appendix Library Longitudinal Comparison Faculty Survey.docx; Appendix: Library Student Survey Data 2017.pdf).

In 2017-18, librarians engaged in an examination of collection development practices with the goal of addressing changing needs of the curriculum. Because of this analysis and changing trends in resource use, the library relies heavily on a vast electronic collection and a shrinking, yet relevant, print collection that directly supports the curriculum. A focused weeding project between 2015 and 2019 resulted in weeding over 25,000 books, adding fresh, relevant titles, and raising the average date of the collection by twenty years.

The Library is also assessing the collection in terms of equity. Librarians are creating a rubric to help assess the level of depth of diversity and perspective. This is a work in progress, but the work should be completed by the end of the 2021 academic year.

The Library uses Summon/SirsiDynix as its Learning Services Platform (LSP). It facilitates the search process for students across all library resources, both print and electronic. Access to authoritative, timely, and relevant content and easy-to-use tools to locate content are essential to student learning. Students seem to be most successful when librarians introduce them to the intricacies of searching appropriate databases for research projects. With guidance from librarians and classroom instructors, students are able to determine which magazines, journals, newspapers, websites, specialized encyclopedias and books will be authoritative for their particular research project. The librarians’ intention is always that these skills will inform students’ research-seeking decisions in academic endeavors, the work place, and their personal lives.

In the Library’s 2013, 2015, and 2017 biennial student surveys, students indicated that the research databases were the Library's most important collection. They also indicated that the databases were the collection with which they were most satisfied. (Appendix Library Student Survey Data 2017.pdf).

Faculty librarians integrate the Library’s collection into instruction in a variety of ways. Faculty librarians offer a menu of options to disciplinary faculty to help their students succeed with research, including offering in-person and online instruction sessions, as well as online learning objects, to help students find and ethically use the most appropriate library resources for their research assignments. For a more thorough discussion of the Library’s robust information literacy program, refer to Standard 1.C.6 or to a complete description found on the Library’s webpages.

OER-related Accreditation Standards

1.C.7 The institution uses the results of its assessment efforts to inform academic and learning- support planning and practices that lead to enhancement of student learning.

Assessment efforts for OER include its annual program review. The Open Education Plan sets strategic benchmarks that are subject to annual assessment and formal review by the Open Education Steering Group. During the 2018-19 academic year TCC reached 456 OER sections —an increase of 56 sections from the previous academic year. TCC Also surpassed its OER enrollment benchmark of 55%. 56% of all students took at least one OER class in 2018-19. 12% of all class sections offered were OER. Strategic benchmarks for 2019-20 include 475 OER sections offered and 58% of students enrolled in at least one OER class (Appendix OER Program Review 2018-19).

The program review, which is conducted annually by the OE Steering Group consisting of representatives from the Library, eLearning, the Bookstore, and Academic Administrative Assistants, sets goals for the year and reports on impact that leads to increased planning and practices to support student learning. In addition to the data reflected in the benchmarks, the Steering Group seeks to, among other goals, engage students, staff, and faculty in a collaborative effort to create a culture of open pedagogy/andragogy and policy. These efforts result in resource creation and curation, professional development to support faculty, regional and national conference presentations, collaboration with students to create open resources such as the Student OER Toolkit, OER and Low-Cost course labeling improvements, and continuous collaborations with stakeholders across campus.

The collaborative nature of OER on the TCC Campus and on its OE Steering Group has led to rapid growth in the amount of OER courses supported, OER resources developed, and direct OER support offered over the summer. This includes a unique course development model, wherein the Instructional Designer and OER Librarian work directly with stipend-funded faculty to create OER courses. This model also includes wraparound development support for faculty from eLearning’s multimedia, accessibility, and technical support specialists. Funded by eLearning’s course development stipend, six OER courses completed development during the 2018-19 year. Improvements in the course proposal and review process have led to increases in both the quality and accessibility of our OER course offerings, as well as efficiencies in our overall course development pipeline. During 2019-20, halfway through the year we have completed the development of five OER courses with six more expected to finish prior to the end of the year. All courses developed through the stipend model are subject to rigorous quality assurance and accessibility standards.

OER support offered by the library has equally contributed to the overall progress. The OER Librarian works closely with other campus stakeholders to accomplish this, including faculty, eLearning, other librarians, staff, and students. The librarian is a critical member of the eLearning’s OER course design team, and she works closely with faculty outside of that structure, providing critical OER instruction, as well as resource and licensing support. During Fall, Winter, and Spring 2018-2019, the OER Librarian recorded 100 questions and consultations with students and faculty concerning OER. These consultations consisted of, for example, OER presentations in specific classes, work with faculty to develop specific OER pieces to their classes, or questions from students about OER assignments in specific classes. The OER Librarian’s collaborations and consultations with faculty during the summer term has increased steadily since her arrival in 2016-17, underlining the importance of stable, dependable, year-round support for OER course development. The Librarian supported 35 courses in Summer 2019 – a 52% increase from Summer 2017, her first summer in this position. Twenty-three of those courses were outside of the planned OER course revision stipend, highlighting the position’s importance in both formal and informal support structures. In addition, she developed 60 OER subject guides in the summer term (a 650% increase since 2017). In order to sustain this effort, however, the college will need to invest in a summer contract for the OER Librarian, a critical piece to overall OER course development work and progress.

The OE Steering Group also works to track OER courses for labeling in the class schedule and savings data. As benchmarks indicated, for 18-19, TCC now has 456 courses labeled as OER. Students can search for these classes in the class schedule.

OER Program Review 2018-19

1.D.4 The institution’s processes and methodologies for collecting and analyzing information on student achievement are transparent and are used to inform and implement strategies and allocate resources to mitigate achievement gaps and promote equity.

The OE Steering Group examines assessment data to highlight the correlation between use of OER/Innovative Instruction and retention/completion rates. Student Achievement Indicators (SAI) at TCC reflect this. In 2014-15 OER students accounted for 41% of TCC’s SAI points. By 2017-18, they accounted for 73% of SAI points. OER students earn a higher percentage of points than their percentage of the population for Pre-College Math, 15 College Level Credits Completed, 30 College Level Credits Completed, 45 College Level Credits Completed, and Completion Points.

This type of positive impact of OER has motivated eLearning to continue to develop the OER stipend model, providing an incentive to faculty to develop OER courses, as well as modifying the stipend model process to be clearer and to accommodate different needs/levels of course development.

The SAI OER data informs the OE Steering Group’s work, leading to new ideas and improvements in current strategies, such as course labeling, professional development for faculty, resources creation, close collaboration with student government, and more - all collaborative campus efforts that mitigate achievement gaps and promote equity.

2.G.1 Consistent with the nature of its educational programs and methods of delivery, the institution creates effective learning environments with appropriate programs and services to support student learning needs.

Open Educational Resources (OER) work at TCC is collaboratively led by eLearning and the Library which successfully create environments, programs, and services to support student learning needs. In addition to saving TCC students $1 million a year in savings consistently, OER’s impact on student learning is noted in the Student Achievement Indicator (SAI) data. Student Achievement Indicators (SAI) at TCC reflect this. In 2014-15 OER students accounted for 41% of TCC’s SAI points. By 2017-18, they accounted for 73% of SAI points. OER students earn a higher percentage of points than their percentage of the population for Pre-College Math, 15 College Level Credits Completed, 30 College Level Credits Completed, 45 College Level Credits Completed, and Completion Points.

The college accomplishes this level of impact through an innovative model of collaboration. The Library’s OER Librarian and eLearning’s Instructional Designer work closely together to support OER course development. The two positions meet weekly to discuss courses and faculty with which they are working. They collaboratively track the courses they are supporting, as well as specific OER questions that they receive from both students and faculty. To provide a snapshot, in 2018-2019, they collaboratively supported 79 course questions/needs, OER questions from students in those classes, and OER meetings/presentations related to this support.

eLearning also provides an OER course development stipend model designed to support faculty in developing fully open courses. For a full description of the stipend model, refer to section 1.C.7.

The OER Librarian and Instructional Designer also directly work with TCC’s associated student government (ASTCC). In 2018-2019. The TCC Student Toolkit for Textbook Affordability and OER was created in collaboration with ASTCC as a student resource for advocacy. This team also supported a student-led campaign to write thank-you letters to professors using OER in the classroom. This collaboration is continuing in 2019-20 with regular reports to the ASTCC Senate on institutional progress around OER.

The Open Education (OE) Steering Group works with OER topics at the institutional level to impact student learning. The group consists of representative stakeholders from across campus, including the Library, eLearning, the Bookstore, and academic administrative assistants. Notable and impactful examples of the group’s work include the OER and Low Cost labeling of courses. This work initially has taken years to develop with stakeholders and implement. Now, however, students can search the class schedule specifically for OER and Low Cost courses, adding tremendously to cost savings for students.

The Instructional designer works closely with the Organization for Learning Effectiveness (OLE) to provide regular (bi-quarterly) workshops on topics covering best practices for learning design and open pedagogy. These workshops promote contemporary and relevant open practices among our faculty. Topics covered include redesigning courses for open pedagogy, implementing openly-licensed design templates, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a remix framework for OER.

TCC Library: Accreditation 2021

Accreditation Seven-Year Visit 2021

Library

OER

Library-related Accreditation Standards

OER-related Accreditation Standards