West Hills College Lemoore has earned a $1,999,924.00 grant from The U.S. Department of Education to further enhance their Open Educational Resource (OER) efforts in partnership with the Equitable Change in Hispanic Serving Institutions Open Educational Resources (CC ECHO) program.
“West Hills College Lemoore is thrilled to be one of only four colleges in the nation to receive this prestigious grant,” said, WHCL President Kristin Clark. “The almost $2 million award is a testament to WHCL’s commitment to providing high-quality, zero-cost textbooks.”
The grant will help WHCL to develop culturally relevant OER and training materials built into 20 courses to serve 1,160 students served at a cost-per-participant of $1,724, saving students an estimated total of $2,214,400 in textbook costs by December of 2023 (first three years of project).
“The grant will support our OER initiative, and in particular, help us develop more culturally relevant OER,” said Clark. “I’m excited because the grant supports our goal to promote equity and address achievement gaps.”
WHCL faculty and their commitment to student success have been an integral part the college’s OER program. “I am appreciative of the work that our faculty continue to put into our OER efforts,” said Clark. “They are laser-focused on student success, and it’s nice that they are being acknowledged with the awarding of this grant. I’m looking forward to the next phase of WHCL’s #OERevolution!”