Using OERs to Close Inequity Gaps in Political Science

Beginning in July 2021, Political Science instructors at Pellissippi State Community College began the process of transitioning from commercially published textbooks to Open Educational Resources (OERs) in its introductory courses. The project is part of a statewide initiative led by the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) to increase equity in access to quality, no/low-cost educational materials. The overarching goal is to increase success rates and improve educational outcomes for traditionally underserved students, such as but not limited to students of color, first-generation college students, and economically disadvantaged students. Pellissippi State has traditionally been the largest community college in the state of Tennessee and its enrollment population is made of both traditional and non-traditional students from every race and socio-economic income level. However, data collected prior to this transition has revealed lower completion and retention rates among minorities. A research team at Pellissippi State Community College was awarded two separate grants by TBR to conduct these transitions. This presentation will consist of two parts. The first part summarizes the process of transitioning the Introduction to American Government course to an OER textbook created by OpenStax, along with adopting and creating additional open access materials during the 2021-2022 academic year. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed from a total of 14 sections of the course to determine the impact of the transition. The second part will chronicle ongoing efforts of an inter-departmental team – consisting of faculty from Political Science, Media Technologies and Web Design, and Librarian Services – to create an Open Access Publication for the Introduction to Political Science course. Although this project will be in process during the conference, a summary of the work to date will be provided.