Open Education Communications Working Group Terms of Reference
Mandate:
The Open Education Communications Working Group will be responsible for developing and implementing a university-wide communications strategy for Open Education (OE) and Open Education Resources (OER) with a specific focus on faculty and student engagement and use of OER and Open Pedagogy best practices. Goals and objectives will be developed to align with the University Academic Plan, specifically: 21st Century Learning, From Access to Success and Advancing and UN (United Nations) Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals: Raise understanding and awareness of OE and OER for the York community over 24 months
- Create a comprehensive communication strategy and implementation framework for increasing OE, OER and Open Pedagogy awareness at the university with specific alignment with the University Academic Plan
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- Create an advocacy plan within communications strategy to advocate for OE and OER as alternatives/supplements to traditional course models and materials (e.g., open textbooks, digital portfolio etc.).
- Identify opportunities for internal and external engagement with stakeholders in discussions of OE and OER.
- Engage with stakeholders to recommend forums for discussion related to OE and OER (events, workshops, conferences, etc.).
- Develop a common language/definition for OE and OERs.
- Assess current internal and external OE and OER landscape.
Membership:
Membership to working groups will be encouraged from all key stakeholders from the York community and will be selected from an open expression of interest call in Fall 2021. A Chair will be elected by the working group membership. The working group will finalize their Terms of Reference and present them to the Open Education Steering Committee for approval.
Role of the Chair
The Chair will:
- Organize and chair meetings.
- Coordinate the drafting of priorities and recommendations from the working group for submission to the Open Education Steering Committee for review, approval, and action.
- Term of Chair will be for a 2-year term (renewal for one additional term by working group)
The Chair will also be an ex-officio member of the Open Education Steering Committee.
Key stakeholders may include one or more representatives from the following departments/divisions:
University Library, Office of AVP Teaching and Learning, Learning Commons, Teaching Commons, Communications & Public Affairs Division, Faculty, and student representations.
Members:
Undergraduate Program Director, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies-Marlene Bernholtz
Anni Siren (Co-Chair Fall 2021)
Professor, Earth and Space Science and Engineering-Mojgan Jadidi (Co-Chair for Winter 2022)
Professor, Faculty of Health- Jodi Martin
Program Director, Teaching & Learning Strategic Initiatives - Karthiga Gowrishanger(Co-Chair Fall/Winter 2021-22)
Communications Manager, York University Libraries- Anjum Nayyar(Seconded)
Term:
Appointment to a working group is on average two years, or until the group completes its work, whichever is earlier. An individual may serve for two consecutive years on any one working group, but not on more than two working groups simultaneously.
Quorum:
The Quorum shall be simple majority (50%+1) of the voting committee members.
Decision Making:
The Working Group (WG) shall strive for consensus when making decisions. If consensus cannot be achieved, the WG members must agree on how to deal with the outstanding issue, i.e., vote, continue discussion, table the issue to another meeting or take the issue to the Open Education Steering Committee.
When voting, majority (50%+1) rules with quorum present.
All objectives, deliverables, and actions of the WG must be approved by the Open Education Steering Committee prior to execution. The WG cannot commit the use of the organization’s financial and human resources without prior approval from the Open Education Steering Committee.
Timelines:
The working group will begin meetings starting September 2021 and will meet monthly or as frequently as defined by the working group.
Open Education Policy & Guidelines Working Group Terms of Reference
Mandate:
The Open Education Policy & Guidelines Working Group will be responsible for developing and implementing a University policy, guidelines and process pertaining to OE and OER with a focus on quality, sustainability, and intellectual property. Goals and objectives will be developed that align with the University Academic Plan, specifically: 21st Century Learning, Knowledge for the Future, From Access to Success and Advancing and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Finalized Objectives:
- Provide advice and guidance on University policies, guidelines and processes pertaining to OE and OER.
- Develop new policies and recommendations on using and engaging with OE and OER as required.
- Provide a report that identifies gaps and opportunities
- Provide support in university decision making around OE and OER projects and initiatives.
- Identify and create resources and education/training materials for OE and OER.
- Provide guidance on intellectual property rights for OER authors.
Membership:
Participation will be open to anyone interested in open education and open educational resources. Membership will be encouraged from all key stakeholders from the York community and will be selected from an open expression of interest call in June 2021. A Chair will be elected by the working group membership. The working group will finalize their Terms of Reference and present them to the Open Education Steering Committee for approval.
Role of the Chair
The Chair will:
- Organize and Chair meetings
- Coordinate the drafting of priorities and recommendations from the working group for submission to the Open Education Steering Committee for review, approval and action
- Term of Chair will be for a 2-year term (renewal for one additional term by working group)
- The Chair will also be an ex-office member of the Open Education Steering Committee
Key stakeholders may include one or more representatives from the following departments/divisions:
University Library, Office of AVP Teaching and Learning, Learning Commons, Teaching Commons, Information, Privacy and Copyright Office, UIT/Learning Technology Services, University Secretariat, Faculty and student representatives.
Members:
Digital Engagement Librarian - Sarah Coysh
Associate Dean, Global & Community Engagement, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies- Lily Cho
Associate Lecturer, Natural Science, Dept. of Science & Technology Studies- Mary-Helen Armour (chair)
Director, Bookstores, Printing & Mailing Services - Chad Saunders
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Dance, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design- Bridget Cauthery
Educational Developer, Teaching Commons-Lisa Endersby
Interim Director, Teaching Commons- Genevieve Maheux-Pelletier
Term:
Appointment to a working group is on average two years, or until the group completes its work, whichever is earlier. An individual may serve for two consecutive years on any one working group, but not on more than two working groups simultaneously.
Quorum:
The Quorum shall be simple majority (50%+1) of the voting committee member.
Decision Making:
The Working Group (WG) shall strive for consensus when making decisions. If consensus cannot be achieved, the WG members must agree on how to deal with the outstanding issue, i.e. vote, continue discussion, table the issue to another meeting or take the issue to the Open Education Steering Committee.
When voting, majority (50%+1) rules with quorum present. There shall be no proxy or email voting unless explicitly determined by the WG in advance of a vote.
All objectives, deliverables, and actions of the WG must be approved by the OER Steering Committee prior to execution. The WG cannot commit the use of the organization’s financial and human resources without prior approval from the Open Education Steering Committee.
Timelines:
The working group will begin meetings starting September 2021 and will meet monthly or as frequently as needed.
Open Education Recognition & Credentialing Working Group Terms of Reference
Mandate:
The Open Education Recognition & Credentialing Working Group will be responsible for developing and implementing policy and framework for recognizing and credentialling OER authors/content creators. Goals and objectives will be developed that align with the University Academic Plan, specifically: 21st Century Learning, From Access to Success and Advancing and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Tentative Objectives:
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Objective 1: Provide advice and guidance on university policies, guidelines and processes pertaining to how OER author and content creators are credentialled.
- Review Tenure and Promotion policies as they may recognize (or not) scholarship through multiple means
- Review guidelines and policies for Graduate Students and Postdocs's academic Progress and professional Development by consulting with Associate Dean, Academic at the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
- Objective 2: Develop new policies, resources, and best practices for ensuring OER author and content creators (i.e., faculty, students, staff) are recognized for their work.
- Consult internally and externally with diverse stakeholders to achieve awareness and buy-in
- Identify gaps and opportunities for recognizing and credentialing authors/content creators.
- Continuum Implementation of Components
- Determine infrastructure needed to implement a recognition and credentialing framework.
- Indicate relevancy of the component with variations in terms of actions and behaviours that are ideal, acceptable and unacceptable
Membership:
Participation will be open to anyone interested in open education and open educational resources. Membership will be encouraged from all key stakeholders from the York community and will be selected from an open expression of interest call in June 2021.
A collaborative leadership model has been established by the group. On a rotating basis the members of the collective leadership will take responsibilities on the tasks outlined below:
- Organize meetings
- Chair meetings
- Notetaking
- Coordinate the drafting of priorities and recommendations from the working group for submission to the Open Education Steering Committee for review, approval and action
- The collective leadership model will be for a 2-year term (renewal for one additional term by working group)
- On a rotation basis a member of the collective leadership will also be an ex-office member of the Open Education Steering Committee
Key stakeholders may include one or more representatives from the following departments/divisions:
University Library, Office of AVP Teaching and Learning, Office of Vice President Research and Innovation, Learning Commons, Teaching Commons, Information, Privacy and Copyright Office, UIT/Learning Technology Services, University Secretariat, Office of Institutional Planning and Analysis, Faculty and student representatives.
Members:
Associate Dean, Digital Engagement and Strategy - Andrea Kosavic
Educational Developer, Teaching Commons- Mandy Frake-Mistak
Director, Global Engagement Programs & Partnerships, York International-Helen Balderama
Director, Information Technology, Office of the Dean, Faculty of Science-Violeta Gotcheva
Associate Professor, Research and Graduate Studies (Glendon)-Dominique Scheffel-Dunand
Term:
Appointment to a working group is on average two years, or until the group completes its work, whichever is earlier. An individual may serve for two consecutive years on any one working group, but not on more than two working groups simultaneously.
Quorum:
The Quorum shall be simple majority (50%+1) of the voting committee members.
Decision Making:
The Working Group (WG) shall strive for consensus when making decisions. If consensus cannot be achieved, the WG members must agree on how to deal with the outstanding issue, i.e., vote, continue discussion, table the issue to another meeting or take the issue to the Open Education Steering Committee.
When voting, majority (50%+1) rules with quorum present. There shall be no proxy or email voting unless explicitly determined by the WG in advance of a vote.
All objectives, deliverables, and actions of the WG must be approved by the OER Steering Committee prior to execution. The WG cannot commit the use of the organization’s financial and human resources without prior approval from the Open Education Steering Committee.
Timelines:
The working group will begin meetings starting September 2021 and will meet monthly or as frequently as needed.