Wisconsin Technical Colleges: Promoting Student Success with Open Educational Resources

The Midwestern Higher Education Compact held its Executive Committee Meeting in Madison, WI, on June 12, and hosted the Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) team who highlighted theirOpen RN™ project. The Open RN™ project is funded by a $2.5 million dollar grant from the Department of Education to create five OER Nursing Textbooks with 25 associated Virtual Reality scenarios. CVTC shared their goals and how the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) has enabled them to provide materials for students on day one of classes, to reach segmented populations, and to share a glimpse of what is possible with OER. CVTC's work in their 11-county region in OER, as well as dual enrollment has allowed the college to to be relevant and innovative and fulfill their college's mission. They also shared how CVTC has scaled this initiative not only for their institution but for the Wisconsin Technical College System and nationally. They addressed how CVTC is helping to meet workforce needs. Finally, they noted their spin-off project of Next Gen RN which is to improve the preparedness of pre-licensure nurses entering the workforce.

Presenters: Ms. Kimberly Ernstmeyer, Open RN Project Director, Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC); Dr. Lynette Livingston, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, CVTC; Mr. Vince Mussehl, Director of Library Services, CVTC; and Mrs. Gina Petrie, Dean of Nursing, CVTC

Video Introduction: Dr. Sunem Beaton-Garcia, President, CVTC

Introduced by: Dr. Morna Foy, President, Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS)

*We apologize for the audio quality of audience questions and comments.