UW Libraries to Launch Journal of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education

University of Wyoming Libraries soon will launch the Journal of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education (JOERHE), a new, open peer-reviewed journal.

The journal is currently accepting scholarly articles that critically analyze the role of open educational resources (OER) in higher education for its debut issue. The journal is anticipated to launch this fall. 

Development and implementation of OER in higher education are expanding rapidly as colleges and universities seek to ease the financial burden experienced by students. According to Achieving the Dream’s 2020 study on the academic and economic impacts of one specific OER initiative, student savings averaged $65 or more per student per OER course.

Many campuses, including UW, are encouraging alternatives to commercial textbooks through the adoption, adaptation and creation of OER. Alternative textbook grants from UW Libraries allow faculty to implement OER in their classes. Proposals for the next round of grants for fall semester implementation are due March 31. For more information, visit https://uwyo.libguides.com/oer/grants.

JOERHE, a noncommercial open access journal that will be published once a year by UW Libraries, offers librarians, instructors and other OER experts a platform for their scholarship on OER, open pedagogy, open access and similar topics focused specifically within the context of higher education.

For those interested in learning from others working with OER in their daily practice, visit JOERHE’s OER and Beyond blog at https://oerandbeyond.org/. This timely blog provides a space for librarians, professors and other educators to engage with one another about the nuances involved in working with OER.

“OER is an equity issue. We cannot continue to keep students from information that has the power to transform their lives,” says Christi Boggs, associate director of digital teaching and learning at the UW Ellbogen Center for Teaching and Learning, and an editorial advisory board member of JOERHE. “This journal will help faculty worldwide to find resources and best practices, and illustrate the impact their OER materials had on their respective communities.”

In addition to peer-reviewed research, JOERHE features an editorially reviewed columns section where invited contributors present case studies, experiential essays, notes from the field and similar shorter-form entries. JOERHE also solicits and publishes reviews on select OER by qualified experts.

The journal’s editors-in-chief are Samantha Peter, instructional design librarian at UW Libraries; Hilary Baribeau, scholarly communications librarian at Colby College; and Kristina Clement, student outreach and sponsored programs librarian and librarian assistant professor at Kennesaw State University.

For a full list of editors and advisory board members, visit https://journals.uwyo.edu/index.php/joerhe/about/editorialTeam.

JOERHE welcomes quantitative and qualitative research articles and discussion pieces concerning OER in higher education. Authors are encouraged to discuss the practical applications of their knowledge and findings, propose best practices, discuss theoretical models and frameworks, and describe their programmatic and practical experiences.

Submissions for JOERHE’s fall 2022 issue are due June 15. For full submission details or questions, visit JOERHE’s website at https://journals.uwyo.edu/index.php/joerhe/about/submissions.