Cengage Highlights Commitment to Open Educational Resources and Affordability at OpenEd 2018

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Oct 09, 2018, 09:00 ET

BOSTON and NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y., Oct. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cengage, an education and technology company, today announced its participation in OpenEd 2018, including speaking sessions that showcase the company's initiatives to increase affordable access to quality learning.

Cengage will participate in sessions that explore how Open Educational Resources (OER) can increase accessibility, affordability and retention. Last year, Cengage launched OpenNow, a suite of technology-enhanced OER products for general education. Since pilots began in spring 2018, enrollments in OpenNow courses have doubled, with students reporting they feel more prepared for class and achieved a higher grade using OpenNow. In addition, 93% of instructors using OpenNow courses reported they would recommend them to a colleague.

Beginning in January, OpenNow will be available in Cengage Unlimited, a subscription that offers unlimited access to more than 22,000 digital course materials, including eBooks, online homework access codes and study guides, for one price. OpenNow courses are also available as a standalone purchase for $25 per student per course. All content in OpenNow is available for anyone to use for free outside of the platform. The $25 fee covers the course delivery, analytics, content curation, content maintenance and curriculum alignment.

Further reinforcing its commitment to OER, Cengage contributed narrative content for three openly licensed textbooks, as well as the learning objectives and assessments for 12 course areas, as OER. The Creative Commons Attribution licensed (CC BY) narrative content and the learning objectives are available to download from the Cengage website, where content can be accessed as editable files without a required login or purchase. The CC BY licensed assessments are available via editable files with an instructor login.

"Students deserve a better way to access their course materials," said Cheryl Costantini, Vice President of Content Strategy, Cengage. "At Cengage, we are committed to providing more affordable options to access quality learning experiences, including a first-of-its-kind subscription and openly licensed content, both of which are driving down costs."

Cengage participation at OpenEd:

Wednesday October 10, 2018

Speaking Session: "Perfect Vision: Bringing OER to Visually-Impaired Learners"

Presenters: Cheryl Costantini, Vice President Content Strategy, Cengage

12:00pm – 12:30pm

Thursday October 11, 2018

Panel Presentation: "How can the open community do for assessments what it has done for content?"

Presenters: Cheryl Costantini, Vice President Content Strategy, Cengage; David Harris, Editor in Chief, OpenStax; Phil Grimaldi, Director of Research, OpenStax

11:00am-12:00pm

Roundtable: "Can Commercial Publishers be Accepted Partners in the OER Community?"

Moderator: David Harris, Editor in Chief, OpenStax

1:00pm – 1:30pm

The OpenNow platform and all content is ADA-complaint and universally designed. OpenNow is currently available for 12 courses with additional courses coming in January. To learn more about OpenNow, visit: www.cengage.com/opennow. To learn more about Cengage Unlimited, visit: www.cengage.com/unlimited.

About Cengage
Cengage is the education and technology company built for learners. As the largest US-based provider of teaching and learning materials for higher education, we offer valuable options at affordable price points. Our industry-leading initiatives include Cengage Unlimited, the first-of-its-kind all-access digital subscription service. We embrace innovation to create learning experiences that build confidence and momentum toward the future students want. Headquartered in Boston, Cengage also serves K-12, library and workforce training markets around the world. Visit us at www.cengage.com or find us on Facebook or Twitter.

Media Contact:
Chloe Ryan, Cengage
617-757-8160, [email protected]

SOURCE Cengage