Upper Peninsula Teaching & Learning Conference - 2026

Institutions of Higher Education in the Upper Peninsula have been working to promote and support Open Educational Resources (OER) on their campuses for many years. OER are course materials available at little or often no cost and can be used for teaching, learning, or research (EDUCAUSE, 2010). OER, along with other Open Educational Practices, foster a collaborative, learner-driven environment, which support inclusion and belonging in multiple ways. 


Since 2015, Bay College has built an equity-centered OER initiative featuring OER degree pathways, over 40 OER-based courses, and more than $3 million in textbook savings. Michigan Technological University’s Van Pelt and Opie Library’s OER initiative builds an inclusive campus culture by supporting instructors through consultations, workshops, and publishing tools. Since 2017, Bay Mills Community College (BMCC) has been using OER textbooks in eight of their core and general education classes. In 2024, BMCC was one of 15 institutions from across the country to take part in an OER study funded by Hewlett Foundation and conducted by AAC&U. At Northern Michigan University (NMU), the OER Working Group has concentrated on supporting interested faculty through faculty learning communities and professional development workshops. 


Based on our experiences on our individual campuses,  the panelists will discuss the ways in which OER can be used to support inclusion and belonging.  We will introduce the audience to the basics of OER. We will also discuss the ways in which we engaged with faculty to consider using OER with their classes. Finally, we will discuss how faculty and librarians can utilize technologies already available to them to facilitate the creation of accessible, affordable course materials as a means of supporting student success and belonging, including the use of generative AI and OER publishing tools.