Hi All

Thanks for continuing this conversation. I had a meeting with BC Federation of Students this morning and brought this conversation to them to seek their input and advice.

The caution from the students is that this action would then remove incentive for the federal government to move financial barriers. It would be something the federal government would see as something that appeases the students in the short term as in funding toward OER but not in the long term when it comes to removing interest. In addition, we wouldn’t be able to support this from BC as it would be a challenge to our NDP government.

Something we also need to think about is if the federal government is to give funding towards OER which mechanism would funding go through – BCFS and I spoke about this and the suggestion was CMEC secretariat as a possibility.

I did speak to them about a potential federal funding ask from both CASA and BCFS and they suggested we aim higher and have the students lobby for $20 million that would be distributed federally.

I am going to provide BCFS with some information about OER in Canada broadly and will share this information with all of you for feedback- they are curious and want to make sure they have the information about what is happening nationally.

Thanks

Amanda

Amanda Coolidge, MEd [she/her]

Director of Open Education, BCcampus

Cell: 250 818 4592  •  Email: acoolidge@bccampus.ca

Twitter: @acoolidge  •  LinkedIn: amandacoolidge

Learning. Doing. Leading.

BCcampus.ca • @BCcampus • #BCcampus

For thousands of years the səl̓ilwətaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsleil-Waututh), Skwxwú7mesh-ulh Temíx̱w (Squamish), W̱SÁNEĆ, and the Songhees Nation of the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen) Peoples have walked gently on the unceded territories where we now live, work, and play. We are committed to building relationships with the first peoples here, one based in honour and respect, and we thank them for their hospitality.

From: Erik Christiansen <echristiansen@mtroyal.ca>
Date: Saturday, February 8, 2020 at 9:42 AM
To: Michael McNally <mmcnally@ualberta.ca>
Cc: Amanda Coolidge <acoolidge@bccampus.ca>, Canada OER <canadaoer@mail.bccampus.ca>
Subject: Re: [Canadaoer] A Declaration on OER Funding

Hi Michael,

I really liked the tone of the op-ed draft and the idea. I see Amanda's point, but I would argue that the student loan model isn't going to change anytime soon. It's not a profit centre for the government, as you've highlighted. Reinvesting some of the interest into OER might actually have a compounding effect, and would allow students to take out less debt. I think it would take a decade of using this model to show the benefits, so it's one of those strategies that will pay dividends in the long-term. I know many students who work 20+ hours a week so they don't have to take out as many student loans (and incur less debt). Those same students envy the zed-cred model that Kwantlen and other institutions offer. I see this as a national effort to reduce Canada's dependence on large publishers, so I'm in favour.

I haven't added any comments to the document yet, but add things as they come to mind.

Cheers,

Erik

On Thu, Feb 6, 2020 at 6:15 PM Michael McNally <mmcnally@ualberta.ca> wrote:

Thanks Amanda.  I too realize that linking OER funding to loan revenue is a challenge, given the students push to eliminate loan revenues all together.  

As always, I'd be happy to hear other perspectives - perhaps there is another formula that could be realized (whether in some way linked to loans (e.g. the value of debt write-offs) or some other goalpost).  

On Thu, Feb 6, 2020 at 5:26 PM Amanda Coolidge <acoolidge@bccampus.ca> wrote:

Okay I stand corrected. After I sent that email I did have a second thought about this and realized that no, this suggestion actually would prove counterproductive to the work that our colleagues are doing at the BC Federation of Students.

The concern is that we would then be incentivizing the government to continue the push toward generating revenue from student loans and therefore placing the burden of affordability and access on the poorest students- those you require more and more student loans. My concern is that we while we would be creating what would be a sustainable model for OER development, it would become a major burden to the students, the same students who we hope to provide assistance to through access and affordability.

Happy to chat about this further and hear other perspectives.

Amanda Coolidge, MEd [she/her]

Director of Open Education, BCcampus

Cell: 250 818 4592  •  Email: acoolidge@bccampus.ca

Twitter: @acoolidge  •  LinkedIn: amandacoolidge

Learning. Doing. Leading.

BCcampus.ca • @BCcampus • #BCcampus

For thousands of years the səl̓ilwətaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsleil-Waututh), Skwxwú7mesh-ulh Temíx̱w (Squamish), W̱SÁNEĆ, and the Songhees Nation of the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen) Peoples have walked gently on the unceded territories where we now live, work, and play. We are committed to building relationships with the first peoples here, one based in honour and respect, and we thank them for their hospitality.

From: Canadaoer <canadaoer-bounces@mail.bccampus.ca> on behalf of Amanda Coolidge <acoolidge@bccampus.ca>
Date: Thursday, February 6, 2020 at 4:16 PM
To: Michael McNally <mmcnally@ualberta.ca>, Canada OER <canadaoer@mail.bccampus.ca>
Subject: Re: [Canadaoer] A Declaration on OER Funding

Thanks for this Michael. I really like this line of thinking and also really appreciate the op-ed you put together, I will pass on to our exec. Team and see if they have any concerns or comments related to the work and if we can “safely” put our names on there. Much appreciated

Amanda Coolidge, MEd [she/her]

Director of Open Education, BCcampus

Cell: 250 818 4592  •  Email: acoolidge@bccampus.ca

Twitter: @acoolidge  •  LinkedIn: amandacoolidge

Learning. Doing. Leading.

BCcampus.ca • @BCcampus • #BCcampus

For thousands of years the səl̓ilwətaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsleil-Waututh), Skwxwú7mesh-ulh Temíx̱w (Squamish), W̱SÁNEĆ, and the Songhees Nation of the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen) Peoples have walked gently on the unceded territories where we now live, work, and play. We are committed to building relationships with the first peoples here, one based in honour and respect, and we thank them for their hospitality.

From: Canadaoer <canadaoer-bounces@mail.bccampus.ca> on behalf of Michael McNally <mmcnally@ualberta.ca>
Date: Thursday, February 6, 2020 at 4:00 PM
To: Canada OER <canadaoer@mail.bccampus.ca>
Subject: [Canadaoer] A Declaration on OER Funding

Hi Everyone,

As some of you may be aware, the University of Alberta will be hosting an OER summit on May 20, 2020, and as part of the planning process, I've been handed some leeway (thanks Krysta) for the final plenary session.  Based on some conversations with colleagues here in Alberta, one idea I've had is that it would be nice to finish the day with some sort of tangible outcome/takeaway.  After ruminating about this for a bit (and in relation to ongoing discussions over the listserv on national advocacy), I've been thinking about how nice it would be to conclude the day with a declaration, specifically in relation to OER funding.

If I had to sum up my thinking in a sentence it would be - the declaration would call on governments that generate revenues from student loans to invest 1% of those revenues into OER.  This approach would end up implicating the federal government because of the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP).  For reference this number would work out to $8.73 million this year (or roughly the same as the $8m the Finance Committee recommended in 2017, and slightly less than the US Federal Investment, which is currently $7 million, but in USD). My sense is that when you suggest 1% of revenue go back into textbook affordability you have a reasonable starting point. That said, I'm open to alternate suggestions.

In terms of background the federal government holds over $18 billion in student debt (with an array of provincial and territorial programs adding in another $10 billion in student loan debt).  While there have been calls for the elimination of all revenues on student debt (the Canadian Federation of Students has argued for this, and the NDP had it in their last platform), it is important to note that the CSLP program actually doesn't 'profit' in that expenses are greater than revenues.  Also, the federal government rather regularly writes-off bad debt from the CSLP.  According to the most recent annual report from 2016-17 (https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/canada-student-loans-grants/reports/cslp-annual-2016-2017.html) the amount of bad debt the government writes off is in the $160-$175 million range, or (conveniently enough) 1% of the overall loan value.  In Jan of this year, the Feds wrote off another $163m (https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2019/01/28/liberals-write-off-163-million-in-student-loans-feds-will-never-collect.html), again in the roughly 1% amount range.  Also, it should be noted that revenues on the CSLP are predicted to grow (this isn't good news, but it would mean that the 1% value would also increase).  The Parliamentary Budget Officer predicts that CSLP revenue will rise to $1.4b by 2024 (which would make the OER fund about $14 million).

Thus, I'm reaching out to all of you to see if perhaps we might be able to work toward some declaration.  The idea being the declaration is worked on in advance, and then read and signed at the May 20, 2020 event (of course we'd have a mechanisms for those who can't be present in Edmonton to sign the declaration).  I'd be willing to do some leg work here locally to see how we might get some broader pick-up of the declaration reading/signing.  As I noted earlier, I'm open to other suggestions on funding ideas, but I thought targeting loan revenues was a) a way to implicate the federal government, b) it also implicates most of the provinces (excluding QC) and the Yukon, c) there is a degree of simplicity to this approach as opposed to going after a marker tied to education spending.  If there are a few supporters, then I'm happy to try to see this through.

Finally, just before the holiday break, I mused at trying to frame some of the issues for a Hill Times op-ed.  I have a draft if anyone wanted to critique/comment/add their name to it (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OUfYOsozemjcAoAiMfqpA-887eyEXqJAOeZk-6A-dvA/edit) - I'm happy for any feedback. I'll admit it is a clunky piece (dealing with the idea of 1% of loan revenue funding mentioned earlier), but my rough sense is the audience for a Hill Times op-ed isn't the general public.  At the end of the day, if this gets rejected (which wouldn't surprise me), I'll probably still aim for something in Policy Options.

Michael

--

Michael B. McNally,
Associate Professor, Faculty of Education (School of Library and Information Studies) 
5-171 Education North, University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta CANADA T6G 2J4
mmcnally@ualberta.ca
Phone: 780-492-3934
Fax: 780-492-2430

--

Michael B. McNally,
Associate Professor, Faculty of Education (School of Library and Information Studies) 
5-171 Education North, University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta CANADA T6G 2J4
mmcnally@ualberta.ca
Phone: 780-492-3934
Fax: 780-492-2430

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--

Erik Christiansen BA, MLIS 

Assistant Professor/Librarian, Mount Royal University 

Subject Areas: Psychology, Counselling/Wellness, Health and Physical Education, and Conservatory

Phone: (403) 440-5168

Twitter: @eriksation

Website: erikchristiansen.net