For more than a decade, Rajiv Jhangiani has been committed to making high-quality educational experiences and resources easier for everyone to access.

The Vice-Provost of Teaching and Learning is optimistic that new research from Brock’s Inclusive Education Research Lab and eCampusOntario can “move the dial” even further toward that goal.

In the new report On a Path to Open, Jhangiani and his co-authors discuss the current state of open educational practices (OEP) within 21 Ontario universities, colleges and Indigenous institutes. The document also provides 10 practical recommendations for building capacity to support OEP.

“It really is about equitable access for learners and if we want higher education to deliver on its promise for societal transformation, then we have to ensure we are not reinforcing existing societal hierarchies,” said Jhangiani, who leads the Brock lab. “Research shows that when you start to dismantle some of these systemic barriers to accessing education, there are even gains for institutions involving enrolment, student persistence and student performance.”

Open education seeks to make education more accessible and inclusive, such as by using open educational resources (OER) to reduce the costs of educational materials.

For the study, post-secondary institutions were able to evaluate their current open practices across 22 dimensions using an updated version of the Institutional Self-Assessment Tool (ISAT), which Jhangiani co-developed in 2021. Areas of assessment included vision and implementation, partnerships, policies, incentives, professional development, institutional support, leadership and advocacy, and culture change.

“Students benefit tremendously in terms of cost savings, access, inclusion and belonging,” Jhangiani said of implementing OEP. “It is also incredible for faculty because there’s a degree of pedagogical flexibility and academic freedom you enjoy when you can move from bending your course to map it onto the table of contents of a textbook, to being able to modify the instructional resources to suit your pedagogical goals.”

Open education can also include the use of collaborative teaching practices.

“It allows for some magical things to happen in the classroom when you invite students to co-create the learning journey,” said Jhangiani, who was recently elected to the board of directors of Open Education Global (OEG) and has helped more than 100 institutions build their open education capacity.

Brock PhD student Oya Pakkal (MA ’23), who is a co-author on the report, said the work widens “equitable access to education through OEP.”

“This project is significant not only for its potential to contribute novel findings to the growing literature on open educational practices but also for providing practical insights and guidance that can benefit post-secondary educators in Canada,” she said.

Among the report’s recommendations, Jhangiani said institutions should look to explicitly embed open education practices within their strategic planning, leverage the strength of their internal partners — such as libraries and teaching and learning departments — and create dedicated positions and professional development opportunities to support open education.

“Brock is among the institutions leading the way in Ontario” for open education, he said. That includes the development of its Open Educational Resources Adoption Grant program, which is co-funded with the Brock University Students’ Union and supports instructors with incorporating open practices into their courses. The program recently received global recognition.

“Brock has been key in providing a home for this research as well as practice, as this work is one of the key priorities in our new academic plan,” he said. “We look forward to giving people access to the assessment tool as well as the benefit of specific strategies and tactics they can implement on the ground.”

eCampusOntario Chief Executive Officer Robert Luke said that “by investing in Open Educational Practices, institutions can enhance affordability, increase access to high-quality resources, and support the academic success of students.”

“eCampusOntario is actively supporting these efforts through the Open Library, tools, and advocacy, helping to build a stronger and more inclusive future for Ontario’s post-secondary system,” he said.

Jhangiani co-authored the report with Pakkal, Luke and Catherine Lachaîne, Interim Open Education Librarian at the University of Ottawa Library. The research was supported by an Insight Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.