Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Higher Education Committee

HB 1561

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Summary of Bill

Requires the Student Achievement Council (Council) to administer the Open Educational Resources (OER) Grant Pilot Program for the public, four-year institutions of higher education.
Requires the Council to conduct outreach to other states and higher education agencies to identify if there is interest in establishing a multistate OER network.
Requires the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to conduct a study on the costs of textbooks and course materials and on the use of OER at the public, four-year institutions of higher education.

Background:

Open Educational Resources.

Open Educational Resources (OER) are educational materials and resources that are free and available for use by anyone. Some resources are under license to re-mix, improve, and redistribute. OER include full courses, course materials, learning objectives, software, and intellectual property licenses, among other things.

Washington State Institute for Public Policy.

The Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) is a non-partisan research organization that carries out research at the direction of the Legislature or the Board of Directors. The WSIPP produces reports on a variety of topics of interest to the state and estimates benefit-cost analyses for a variety of state programs.

Summary of Bill:

Open Educational Resources Grant Pilot Program.

The Student Achievement Council (Council) must administer the Open Educational Resources Grant Pilot Program for the public, four-year institutions of higher education. The grants must be used for two things: (1) to create a designated campus coordinator who will be the campus lead and centralized contact on OER; and (2) to support faculty to adopt or create OER. The Council must develop an application form and processes for selecting applicants, for awarding grant funding, and for the grant awardee to report back on the use of the grant. The Council must prioritize applicants that estimate the highest cost reduction to students and determine how many grants may be awarded based on funding received.

The Council must also conduct outreach to other states and higher education agencies to identify whether there is interest in establishing a multistate OER network to establish a platform for peer review, coordinating, and sharing of OER.

The Council must report to the Legislature by December 1, 2018, on the OER grant pilot program and on the outreach conducted regarding a multistate open educational resources network. The report must include the following information:

number of grant applications received;
number of grants awarded;
evaluation of how the grants were used to expand OER use; and
how the Council conducted outreach to other states and their feedback on the concept of a multistate OER network.

Campus coordinator and OER are both defined.

Washington State Institute for Public Policy Study.

By December 1, 2018, the WSIPP must conduct a study on the cost of textbooks and course materials, and on the use of OER at the four-year institutions of higher education. The study is to address the types of, and average cost per student, for required textbooks and course materials, including digital access codes and bundled items, and in specific degree programs. The study must also review OER use at the institutions and in specific degree programs, courses, or both.