National Consortium of Open Educational Resources (NCOER)

Overview

The WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET) will lead a national network to coordinate the collaboration among the four regional higher education compacts. In partnership, the four higher education regional compacts—Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE), Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)—aim to increase access, affordability, and equity using open educational resources (OER). OER are high-quality teaching and learning materials that are free for educators and students to use, customize, and share. This partnership will expand current OER efforts in each region led by the compacts and coordinated by the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET).

Together, these partners will engage new opportunities to build capacity for policy and effective practice, enable substantial research, develop open education solutions that promote equitable learning, and support coordination across regions to scale and sustain use of OER across the country. The regional compacts are a trusted resource and share a common responsibility for assisting and promoting the adoption and scaling of open education; each has a structure in place with staff highly experienced in policy and practice. Through participation in one or more of the four compacts, potentially all 50 states, the District of Columbia, territories, and freely associated states may participate in this program. Especially during this current fiscal crisis, the compacts are uniquely positioned to work with their members to explore the value of OER, and WCET’s role as convener will make process more streamlined.