Affordable Learning Materials with Chris Younkin (Part 2)
from CTI Teaching & Innovations Podcast Hosted by Matthew McKenzie, Chris Younkin
Chris Younkin is SUU's Scholarly Communication Librarian and Assistant Professor of Library and Information Science. His library work focuses mostly on affordable learning materials, such as Open Educational Resources, and scholarly publishing. He also teaches information literacy and academic research. Chris earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Ohio State University, a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Miami University, and a Master of Library and Information Science from Kent State University. His research interests include intellectual freedom, library ethics, and library instruction. These comments made as part of the podcast reflect the views of the episode participants only and should not be construed as official university statements.
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What this episode covers
The podcast features Dr. Chris Younkin discussing his research on affordable learning materials at Southern Utah University (SUU). Based on a Fall 2023 survey with 186 respondents, at least 9% of SUU courses (269 sections) use affordable learning materials, including 176 sections specifically using Open Educational Resources (OERs). Younkin emphasizes targeting high-enrollment general education courses for OER adoption to maximize student savings and highlights ongoing efforts to create a statewide hub through the Utah Education Network for sharing OER resources across institutions. While acknowledging the challenges of switching from traditional textbooks, including course redesign requirements, Younkin emphasizes the importance of faculty collaboration, copyright compliance, and starting small when transitioning to affordable materials. He outlines future plans to expand OER adoption at SUU through department outreach, faculty training, and establishing a working group, all while keeping student affordability at the forefront given rising costs of education and living expenses.
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