1.0 Policy

• 1.1 Policy Declaration

WOU will promote and implement the creation, reuse, remix, repurpose and redistribution of Open Educational Resources (OER) within an Open Licensing framework


• 1.2 Specific Policy Statements
  
  
  • WOU top management will promote, foster and reward all efforts towards the integration, sharing, re-using and re-purposing of Open Educational Resources in course design, development and delivery in an e-learning environment for achieving increased quality and cost-efficiency
    
    
  • WOU's academic and academic support staff will be commited to the philosophy of Open Educational Resources (OER) in building capacity and positive attitudes for effective OER creation and OER integration for the development and delivery of courses as well as other professional engagements
    
    
  • All members of WOU academic and academic support staff will plan and implement suitable academic activities involving the creation and use of Open Educational Resources by learners and thereby helping them acquire competencies required for a knowledge society
  
  
• 1.3 Policy Objectives
  
  The objectives of the policy are to :
  
  
  • formulate the necessary strategic outputs, tasks and performance indicators to achieve OER creation and integration in the development and delivery of WOU courses;
  • develop awareness about the concept and practices related to OER among all WOU staff;
  • build capacity among the academic and academic support staff for the creation, identification, storing and integration of OER in their professional engagements;
  • prepare all required guidelines and manuals for OER creation and integration including open licensing procedures;
  • establish an OER repository in the public domain containing WOU's open licensed materials and an in-house repository of relevant OER resources for use of WOU staff;
  • procure/develop and install the required hardware and software infrastructure for OER creation and integration;
  • continuously monitor and ensure that the policies are implemented effectively;
  • develop and incorporate an effective feedback mechanism that will enable WOU to take informed decisions for any mid-term corrections in the implementation of OER integration; and
  • consider and incorporate changes in the process according to international developments in the field and the requirements of WOU.

2.0 Strategic Outputs

• 2.1    The design, development and production of course materials include the reusing and repurposing of available OER
  
  
• 2.2    Commitment of the University in making available through a dedicated Website some selected content as OER for the greater use of the community
  
  
• 2.3    Training and incentivizing staff and schools/departments who are actively demonstrating adoption of OER policies
  
  
• 2.4    A University policy on copyright aligned to its commitment and practice for OER adopted and implementation

3.0 Scope

• 3.1    This Policy applies to all academic and academic support departments of WOU including Schools, Educational Technology and Publishing, Learning and Library Services, Registry as well as the academic functions in the Regional Offices

4.0 Definitions

• 4.1    WOU - Refers to Wawasan Open University
• 4.2    Open Educational Resources (OER) : WOU interprets OER to comprise all types of open and free digital content for teaching and learning, software-based tools and services, and licenses that allow for open development and re-use of content, tools and services
• 4.3    OER Creation : This refers to the development/production of digital open content and its publication online with an open license
• 4.4    OER Integration : This is viewed as a logical and systematic process of using, re-mixing, re-purposing and sharing of Open Educational Resources and engaging in practices for course development and delivery based on the nature of licensing of each material
• 4.5    Knowledge Society : This is viewed as a community or formal association of people who acknowledges the strength of knowledge creation and are committed to make effective use of networking of people with similar interests and in this process contribute to this knowledge

5.0 Responsibility and Authority

• 5.1    The Vice Chancellor as the head of the University as well as the Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Academic Support) shall ensure compliance to this policy with the guidance of the OER-Steering Committee chaired by Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) as indicated in 6.2

6.0 Policies and Procedures

• 6.1 OER Concept and Philosophy
  
  OER creation and integration in WOU is viewed as a shared responsibility executed in a centralised and decentralised ways. While the Vice Chancellor and the senior management staff play a major role in driving and promoting the University's OER integration initiative, all members of the University community are expected to recognise and support OER practices. Heads of Departments who provide academic support and Deans of Schools are responsible for ensuring that policy requirements are fulfilled among their own staff. Members of staff especially all Course Coordinators and academic support personnel of Educational Technology and Publication (ETP) and Learning and Library Services (LLS) will receive intensive training followed by regular ongoing expert support to become competent in OER creation and integration in WOU courses.
  
  
• 6.2 OER Steering Committee (OER-SC)
  
  An OER Steering Committee (OER-SC) is constituted to plan and implement the OER integration initiative.
  
  The OER-SC shall consist of the :
  
  • Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) who shall be the Chairman
  • Assistant Vice Chancellor (Academic Support) who shall be the Convener
  • Director, Educational Technology and Publication (ETP)
  • Director, Learning and Library Services (LLS)
  • Professor, Educational Technology and Publication (ETP)
  • Quality Assurance Manager
  • Representatives from each School
    

  The OER-SC will meet at least once every month during the first year (2012) and at least bimonthly in the subsequent years.
  
  

• 6.3 Monitoring and Management
  
  The day to day operations under OER creation and integration initiative will be monitored and managed by the Office of the Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Academic Support)
  
  
• 6.4 Review Procedure
  
  
  • The OER Steering Commmittee (OER-SC) will review the effectiveness of the WOU OER Policy every year in its first meeting and an OER Review Report is prepared
  • OER-SC review report will go to the Senate for consideration, endorsement and approval
  • If revisions are endorsed and approved, the OER-SC shall disseminate the revised policy to all stake holders

7.0 Related and Support Documentation

• 7.1 OER Integration in WOU: Outcomes, Strategic Outputs and Action Plan