OER Consent Form

Open Educational Resources Consent Form

Dear Student,

Researcher and title of study

I am the Associate Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), and I coordinate the assessment of the UNH Open Education Project in which your professor is participating. The purpose of this project is to promote student learning through incorporating Open Educational Resources (OER) materials in your course. Part of this project includes a semester-long assessment of the cost savings, learning benefits, and student perceptions of the teaching resources used in your OER course. These non-optional assessments are required and essential to the OER initiative; they will be conducted regardless of whether you consent to participate in the research study described below. 

What is the purpose of this form?

This consent form is to request your permission for your data that will be obtained from the planned UNH Open Education Project assessments to be used for research/dissemination purposes. This consent form describes the research study and helps you to decide if you want to participate.  It provides important information about what you will be asked to do in the study, about the risks and benefits of participating in the study, and about your rights as a research participant. You should:

• Read the information in this document.
• Ask me if you have any questions, particularly if you do not understand something.
• Not agree to participate until all your questions have been answered, or until you are sure that you want to.
• Understand that your participation in this study involves your permission to allow for your student learning outcome information (for example, exam scores), and data from your student perception surveys on the OER materials throughout the semester, with the goal of assessing the teaching resources used in your course.
• Also understand that all information obtained from this project will be presented in summary form. Your scores will never be associated with your name or with any other identifying information.

What is the purpose of this study?

The purpose of this study is the same as the purpose for the assessment of the UNH Open Education Project described in the introductory paragraph. Participation in this study involves your consent to use your data that will be collected for the Open Education assessments for research and dissemination purposes. The results of our project will help to inform your course instructor and other college teachers interested in implementing OER in their courses. 

What does your participation in this study involve?

You need to do nothing different as a participant in this study than you are already doing, or will do, as student in your course; you will complete course work per course-related activities, as usual. If you agree to participate in this study after reading this document, your data that will be collected as part of the UNH Open Education Project as described in the introductory paragraph will also be used for research/dissemination purposes. Below are details about how these data will be collected and handled for both the UNH Open Education Project assessment and planned research study.

As a participant in this study, you should know that: 

1. Allowing OER designated CETL staff to review and analyze your coursework will not involve any additional time or effort on your part.
2. If you do not want your information to be used in this aspect of this project, there will be no effects on grades, standing in your course, etc.

 What are the possible risks of participating in this study?

Participation in this study is expected to present minimal risk to you. 

What are the possible benefits of participating in this study?

Although you are not anticipated to receive any direct benefits from participating in this study, there are two potential benefits for you and other students enrolled in the course:

1. At the end of the research study, we will make available, upon request, to all students in the course a summary of what we learned about teaching and student learning from this project along with a set of recommendations of what teachers can do to implement OER materials in a manner that benefits students’ learning in future courses.
2. Your participation in this research study may make it more likely that other instructors at UNH will use OER materials in their courses, including future courses that you may take.

 Do you have to take part in this study?

Taking part in this research study is voluntary. Regardless of your decision to participate in this research study, your data will still be used as part of the UNH Open Education Project assessment (described in the introductory paragraph). If you choose to not participate in this research study, your data will not be included in the research study.

How will the confidentiality of your records be protected?

I plan to maintain the confidentiality of all data and records associated with your participation in this research. There are, however, rare instances when I may be required to share personally-identifiable information with the following:

• Officials at the University of New Hampshire System and UNH.

 To help protect the confidentiality of your information, and to maintain privacy rights:

1. OER designated CETL staff will immediately remove students who do not consent to have their data used for research purposes. For students who consent to use their data for research/dissemination purposes, OER designated CETL staff (Catherine Overson, Daniel Pyburn, Elizabeth Tappin, and Melissa Day) will remove any and all individuating student information from participating students, rendering these data anonymous.
2. All results obtained from this project will be presented in summary form. The results of individual students will never be associated with their name or with other identifying information.
3. All records will be stored in a secure location at all times (just as your instructor does when she/he maintains your grades on course work in a secure fashion).
4. In order to report the generalized benefits of using OER materials with regard to student learning in a variety of disciplines, summary reports will identify the course name.
5. The results may be used in reports, presentations, and publications.

Whom to contact if you have questions about this study

If you have any questions about this research project or would like more information before, during, or after the study, you may contact Catherine Overson at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at (603) 862-0902 or coverson@unh.edu.  

If you have questions about your rights as a research subject, you may contact Dr. Julie Simpson in UNH Research Integrity Services at 603-862-2003 or Julie.simpson@unh.edu to discuss them. 

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Catherine Overson

Associate Director, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at UNH.