[Libs-Or] Announcing the 2015 ACRL-Oregon Award for Excellence Winner

[Jennifer Snoek-Brown]

**Please excuse cross-postings**

The *ACRL-Oregon Award for Excellence* is a project-based award given
annually to an individual or group whose project or initiative has
significantly improved Oregon academic libraries or librarianship.

We are proud to announce this year’s award winner, *John Schoppert*,
Director of Library Services at Columbia Gorge Community College
<http://www.cgcc.edu/> (CGCC), for leading the *Gorge Open (GO) Open
Educational Resources (OER) project*.

Mr. Schoppert collaborated with CGCC administration, the distance learning
coordinator, faculty, the bookstore manager, and advisors, and he sought
the support of the CGCC Foundation. He designed an outreach program for
faculty, which included seminars and presentations to departments,
committees, and one-on-one consultations. These efforts helped raise the
awareness of OER throughout the campus and created a groundswell of
interest, which led to early adoption of OER into course curriculum.

Mr. Schoppert helped instructors integrate OER into the classroom, provided
research support, and designed course assessments to improve the
instructional design and to address student concerns about the OER
alternative textbook program. Furthermore, Mr. Schoppert kept institutional
interest high by engaging the administration, the board of education, and
staff shareholders (the bookstore manager, advisors, etc.) and including
them in the efforts of building OER courses. By engaging the
administration, Mr. Schoppert created an overall awareness of OER, not only
as it affected CGCC students, but also through connecting it to student
success nationwide by alleviating burdensome textbook costs. By repeated
presentations to administration, the board, and to the CGCC Foundation for
financial support, the CGCC OER program was firmly established on the
institutional level and integrated into the Student Success Plan and the
Strategic Enrollment Management Plan, the two overarching management plans
for CGCC student success.

The final goal for Mr. Schoppert was to brand the OER program, and give OER
classes a clear distinction in the CGCC schedule. Thus was born the GO –
"Gorge Open" - brand icon, which corresponds with every course that uses
OER each term. This icon allows student to know which courses would reduce
their college expenses by not using a publisher’s textbook. Although
somewhat controversial, it has proven effective as students are
increasingly signing up for these classes.

As early adopters of using an OER icon in their schedules, CGCC was pleased
to see the recent passage of Oregon House Bill 81 – the OER bill – which
included the requirement of an icon in community college schedules to
designate OER courses, along with the funding for OER adoption throughout
the state. To date, CGCC has saved students over $61,000 in student
textbook costs.

Congratulations again to John Schoppert, recipient of the 2015 ACRL-Oregon
Award for Excellence!

Please visit the Award for Excellence page
<http://acrloregon.org/acrl-oregon-award-for-excellence/> for more info
about the award, as well as for a list of past winners and projects.

*Message sent on behalf of ACRL-Oregon by Jennifer Snoek-Brown (ACRL-OR
Communications Coordinator, 2014-2016), Faculty Librarian, Mt. Hood
Community College*
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