Values

Wiley notes that OER initiatives in higher education are sustainable when they align with both the values of the institution and the needs of the students (Wiley, 2007). When these initiatives match up with institutional goals, they gain more support, establish frameworks for policy development, and encourage financial backing (Wiley, 2007). Demonstrating this alignment can be challenging beyond the obvious benefit of financial savings for students. At Ontario Tech, the OER Lab takes a values-driven approach that aligns with the university's mission, vision, and values.

Among Ontario Tech University's mission, vision, and values are:

Intellectual resilience: Pursuing excellence by respecting diverse viewpoints and engaging constructively when exploring ideas and advancing knowledge.

Learning re-imagined: Adapting to changes in education by providing flexible and dynamic learning and research opportunities.

Partnerships: Collaborating with industry, community, government, and academic partners to find innovative solutions to pressing problems, especially in the realm of global sustainability and well-being.

The OER Lab offers students collaborative spaces to co-create knowledge with fellow students, faculty, and staff. However, this collaborative relationship requires shared expectations for etiquette, communication, and behaviour among all stakeholders. Students may not explicitly understand how their professors, acting as clients, expect to be communicated with on a professional level. Therefore, it is crucial for the OER Lab to define these expectations clearly and provide students with opportunities to explore and practice these skills before entering the workforce. The study results indicate that students recognize the need to improve their professional communication skills and view the OER Lab as a unique opportunity to acquire the necessary knowledge and understanding for successful professional relationships. The opportunities provided by the OER Lab reinforce Ontario Tech's values and contribute to a stable work environment for students.

Raise Awareness in the Community

Some participants in the study believed that the OER Lab played a crucial role in raising awareness about OER and OEP at Ontario Tech. Students took part in organizing their own advocacy events, such as an online social media campaign (#textbookbroke) and a hybrid conference named Open Education in Action. These events allowed students to showcase their creativity, event planning, and communication skills to encourage fellow students, staff, and faculty to get involved. Such events are vital for the success of the OER Lab, as they not only help student employees diversify their skills but also encourage potential clients to explore the Lab's services and consider submitting projects.

Maintaining a pool of potential projects and student employees is vital for the sustainability of the OER Lab. Providing a platform for current OER Lab employees to demonstrate their work to their peers validates their efforts while also raising awareness and providing insights for potential new hires. Additionally, as many Ontario Tech students face barriers to accessing education, including financial barriers, awareness of affordable resources and on-campus job opportunities is crucial. Some university administrators may view the adoption of OER in a course as a one-time event, but the OER Lab's advocacy events showcase the innovative activities and resources it can support, thereby promoting buy-in from university faculty and administration. With support from university stakeholders, the utilization of the OER Lab is likely to increase, leading to greater visibility and continuous improvement.

Institutional Support

The work conducted in the OER Lab may seem small in scale, often focusing on specific issues within certain courses, although many projects have broader applications. While university administration may not typically pay attention to the types or licensing of resources used in each classroom, it is crucial for them to recognize and consider the work done in the OER Lab. Through ongoing promotional and advocacy efforts, the OER Lab has been integrated into Ontario Tech's latest Integrated Academic and Research Plan. In addition to saving over $1 million CAD since OER use-tracking began in 2018, the OER Lab has supported numerous grants from the eCampus Ontario Virtual Learning Strategy Grants and two Microcredential Challenge Fund Grants. These grants heavily relied on the OER Lab's support for content creation and other development tasks, such as ensuring accessibility compliance and online publishing. Without the employment support provided by the OER Lab, a significant portion of the grant funding would have to be allocated to external development agencies to fulfill grant deliverables. Moreover, the OER Lab has been tasked with supporting the university's Continuous Learning and Student Learning Centre departments, as well as providing materials for incoming students through Academic Advising, thanks to its ongoing project intake process and well-trained staff who consistently deliver high-quality materials on time.

As indicated by Skidmore and Provida (2019), one of the benefits of OER development is increased engagement in teaching practice. However, this benefit often clashes with the time constraints faced by instructors due to OER development, posing a significant barrier to OER uptake, development, and sustainability at post-secondary institutions. The OER Lab helps address this challenge by providing the capacity to undertake various open content projects without incurring additional human resources costs for the institution, thereby alleviating time pressures on behalf of the institution. The Lab's continued recognition, project intake, and support make it an indispensable component of the university, enabling the delivery of innovative, accessible, and cost-effective programs while overcoming significant barriers to OER adoption experienced by instructors.

The original idea for the OER Lab, put forward by the researcher, came about in early 2020. Just a few months later, the university had to switch completely to remote operations because of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. These lockdowns brought significant challenges, both operationally and financially, for all universities, including Ontario Tech. Meanwhile, many students who had lined up summer jobs, co-op placements, or internships found their opportunities disappearing as companies struggled with similar challenges.

The OER Lab came into play to help students find paid work that could be done remotely, but strict spending limits meant we had to find alternative funding methods. That's where the University Works program came in. It stepped in to cover all the student salaries in the OER Lab. Because these jobs under the University Works program have different eligibility criteria and working hours, they're not considered unionized positions and don't require the higher pay rates, educational qualifications, and experience usually needed for such positions.

Using the University Works program also means that students who are in financial need can access high-quality on-campus jobs. Studies have shown that well-designed on-campus employment programs can really benefit student retention and success in various ways, like improving academic performance, developing career-ready skills, boosting financial stability, and strengthening connections to the university (Remenick & Bergman, 2021; Taylor & Sandoval, 2023).

On top of funding more student positions, the University Works program gives students the chance to connect with their work, other students, faculty, and staff at the university. Strong connections to the institution improve overall student retention, especially for students in financial need, which makes the OER Lab model appealing to university administrators who care about student recruitment and enrollment. By supporting ongoing student success, the OER Lab can contribute to the university's financial stability in a way that ensures its long-term sustainability and backing from university administration.