Students are at the heart of the open education movement. The importance of supporting, engaging, and partnering with students is a common thread through all of this year's conference topics, from pedagogy to collaboration to equity. However, not everyone knows where to start in terms of engaging and empowering students in open education work.
Financial and access barriers have become increasingly relevant for students who choose to pursue post-secondary education. Student advocates are engaged in the fight on the ground, but their terms are often short and cover many different priorities and platforms. While this reality has become normative across higher education, student advocates are continuing to seek solutions to reducing these financial burdens.
This panel allows attendees to hear from past student advocates that led open education projects on their campus. It offers other stakeholder groups a chance to better understand how to support and uplift student voices. By encouraging librarians, faculty members, and other institutional staff to involve students in their open education advocacy, we hope to inspire a movement that continues to reach new advocates and that supports sustainable student-led initiatives year after year.
This session is designed to equip campus leaders across all stakeholder groups with the tools to encourage students to take an active role in their own advocacy at their respective institutions. The panelists will share their experiences as former student advocates on their respective campuses in both Canada and the United States, as well as their insights on what the future of student advocacy within the open education space might look like. During the summation period, participants will engage directly with former student advocates in reflective discourse that inspires participants to discuss how emerging themes can be implemented at their respective institutions.
After participating in this session, attendees will be able to:
- Reflect on the barriers (financial or otherwise) that students face when accessing course materials
- Consider strategies for empowering and uplifting student advocates
- Apply best practices for maintaining a sustained and effective partnership with student advocates to achieve shared advocacy goals
