KU could be joining the technological tanks of Yale, MIT, Notre Dame and USC Berkeley if Brylie Oxley has his way.

For the past six months, Oxley, Overland Park junior, has been researching the use of OpenCourseWare, a program that allows universities to post their courses- lectures, syllabi and, in some cases, textbooks- online for free to the public, and hopes to bring it to KU.

            "We need a universally educated society," Oxley said. "We can't do that with what we have now."

            Over 200 universities have adopted programs like OpenCourseWare and are now making their curriculums available to all people for free.           

            Open educational resources like OpenCourseWare allow universities to publish course materials online with no cost to the user, which could be anyone and not just students who go to that university. This material would include syllabi, notes, lectures and even textbooks in cases where there are no copyright infringements. Professors are also able to publish their own textbooks.

MIT was one of the first universities in the nation to latch onto the idea of free online course materials. As the new millennium dawned, MIT wanted to explore the connection between its education programs and the Internet. In 2000, the faculty recommended OpenCourseWare to MIT and since then has published 1890 courses online that are free and open to the public.

Those who use these free online courses from a university do not earn a degree. However, studies at MIT have shown that people are more likely to attend the Institution after looking at its curriculum first. Thirty-two percent of freshmen surveyed at MIT in 2005 said they were influenced by OCW to attend MIT. In addition, 92 percent of undergraduate students and 82 percent of graduate students at the college use OCW to enhance their learning experience. 

 
Yale's Website offers easy access to multiple courses in a variety of subjects

"By all measures we think OCW has been a tremendous success," said Cecelia d'Oliveira, Executive Director of OCW at MIT. "OCW showcases MIT's curriculum, strengthens the Institute's reputation, and promotes international engagement."

            Though professors are not required to use this program if a university were to adopt it, Oxley pointed out the benefits for professors. First of all, it would increase the knowledge and evolution of the curriculum, he said, thus giving the professor more recognition for his or her work across the globe.

            According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Website, "The institutions and individuals creating and publishing these resources are also rewarded through increased status and visibility, and the inevitable increase in demand for their services and products."

The main objection to the program is its cost, which varies from university to university. MIT runs its OCW program at $3.5 million a year, though d'Oliveira said that other schools can operate at a lower cost depending on what the school wants to incorporate into its program. Oxley also said that it can be run by anyone- students, TAs and professors.

            "It's a very flexible initiative," Oxley said. "It's showing positive proof of our communications technology."

More important to Oxley, however, having these courses available embraces the idea that all knowledge is universal and all people have a right to an education despite their financial or economic situation.

            "I believe that education is essential for a free society and a participatory democracy," Oxley said. "It's very important that as many people have that access to education as possible. It presents to me a fundamental aspect of the democracy we strive for in this society."

            Oxley said his goal right now is to research the program more before trying to get it started on a larger scale. He is even starting his own student group to continue raising awareness for the program.

            "It's already kind of happening at KU," he said. "I am also encouraged that on campus there is already awareness of, and momentum toward, liberated educational assets."

            Oxley, who is a Spanish major, approached several Student Senate groups during this semester's student elections to raise awareness for his cause and found a friend in the Libertarian group Students of Liberty, which was running for Senate at the time.

            "It's right up our alley," Peter Northcott, a member of Students of Liberty, said.

            Though the group was defeated on election day, Students of Liberty is still interested in the cause.

            "It's the evolution of technology," Northcott said. "KU might as well get on it."

            On an administrative level, adopting free online course at KU has been tough.

            "I am familiar with OpenCourseWare as an online storage system for class materials, but am not aware of any plans to adopt it for widespread use here at KU," said Susan Zvacek. Director of Instructional Development and Support at KU. "Although many systems like OpenCourseWare are presented as a way to offer 'courses' to the public, they are predominantly collections of materials; if this is what constitutes a course, the library has many of them already available for those who are motivated to learn on their own."

            Despite the struggle, Oxley is pushing forward with his cause.

            "It's a pretty uphill process," he said. "But it at least plants a seed."