Developing a Needs Assessment for an Open Education Initiative
For my SPARC Open Education Leadership Program capstone project, I conducted a needs assessment of the current state of Open Educational Resources (OER) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), in order to connect with campus OER stakeholders and identify current attitudes about, areas of opportunity for, and barriers to OER. To start this process, I identified the scope and research questions for my assessment, which focused on campus practices relating to course materials. I collected data using a variety of methods, including interviews with faculty and campus offices, student and faculty surveys on course material acquisition, and analysis of financial aid data. Based on the data I collected, I identified needs and opportunities and compiled a series of evidence-based recommendations for developing WPI’s open education initiative. I also created a community resource that focused on how to plan for a needs assessment for an open education initiative. This project was successful in achieving most of the goals that I established in the planning process. Lessons learned included the importance of the needs assessment process for open education initiatives in the early stages of development, how to adapt messaging and terminology to engage faculty, and how to seek out small, intentional actions to build larger projects.