AUM To Host ACHE 2025 Open Educational Resources Workshop – Montgomery Independent

Report on the 2025 Open Educational Resources Workshop and Alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals

Event Overview

A report on the selection of Auburn University of Montgomery (AUM) as a host institution for a 2025 Open Educational Resources (OER) workshop, organized by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE). This initiative directly supports key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by promoting accessible and equitable education.

• Event: 2025 Open Educational Resources (OER) Workshop
• Host Institution: Auburn University of Montgomery (AUM)
• Partner Institution: Trenholm State Community College
• Date: Friday, September 12, 2025
• Time: 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
• Location: Taylor Center 230
• Audience: Open and free to all faculty and staff at Alabama colleges and universities.

Contribution to SDG 4: Quality Education

The workshop’s focus on OER is a direct strategic action towards achieving SDG 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. The initiative contributes to the following targets:

1. Target 4.3: By promoting the use of free educational materials, the OER initiative works to ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational, and tertiary education, including university.
2. Target 4.7: OER empowers educators to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development by providing adaptable, high-quality, and cost-free resources.

Contribution to SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

The adoption of OER is a critical tool for reducing inequalities within and among countries, as outlined in SDG 10. By removing the significant financial barrier of expensive textbooks, this initiative promotes greater equity in higher education.

• Target 10.2: The program fosters the social and economic inclusion of all students, irrespective of economic status, by providing universal access to essential learning materials.
• Target 10.3: It helps to ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome by eliminating a key variable in educational cost, thereby leveling the playing field for students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.

Contribution to SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

This workshop exemplifies the collaborative approach advocated for in SDG 17, which calls for strengthening the means of implementation and revitalizing global partnerships for sustainable development.

• Target 17.17: The event is a model of an effective public partnership, bringing together multiple stakeholders to achieve a common goal. The collaboration includes:
  • The Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) as the state-level governing body.
  • Auburn University of Montgomery as a university host.
  • Trenholm State Community College as a community college partner.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 4: Quality Education

  The article focuses on an Open Educational Resources (OER) workshop hosted by Auburn University of Montgomery (AUM) for faculty and staff of Alabama colleges and universities. OER initiatives are central to improving the quality and accessibility of education by providing free educational materials. This directly supports the overall goal of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 4.3: By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university.

   The article highlights an initiative within the tertiary education sector (colleges and universities in Alabama). The promotion of Open Educational Resources (OER) is a direct strategy to make education more “affordable” by reducing or eliminating the cost of textbooks and other course materials for students. The workshop aims to equip faculty with the means to implement OER, thus contributing to more affordable and quality university education.

2. Target 4.c: By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States.

   The workshop described in the article is a form of professional development, or in-service training, for educators (“faculty and staff at Alabama colleges and universities”). By training faculty on how to use and implement OER, the initiative enhances their qualifications and teaching methods. This contributes to increasing the supply of educators who are skilled in modern, accessible pedagogical resources. The partnership between AUM and Trenholm State Community College also reflects the collaborative spirit of this target.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Number of professional development opportunities for educators.

  The article explicitly mentions that AUM will host “one of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education’s (ACHE) 2025 Open Educational Resources (OER) workshops.” The existence and number of such workshops serve as a direct indicator of efforts to train and qualify teachers, relevant to Target 4.c.

• Number of educators trained.

  The article states the event is “open to faculty and staff at Alabama colleges and universities” and provides a registration link. The number of attendees who register and participate in the workshop would be a key indicator for measuring the reach and impact of this training initiative, aligning with the goal of increasing the supply of qualified teachers (Target 4.c).

• Number of institutional partnerships.

  The article mentions a partnership between “Auburn University of Montgomery (AUM)” and “Trenholm State Community College.” The formation and number of such collaborations to advance educational goals is an indicator of progress towards creating a more robust and accessible educational system, supporting both Target 4.3 and 4.c.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: montgomeryindependent.com