Policy and Open Educational Resources in Hawaii, the Story of SB 2328 – University of Hawai'i OER

"As we settle into the summer season here in Hawaii, it’s time to look back at the first six months of the year and reflect on the policy happenings. As I’ll take a few words to explain, Hawaii State Senate Bill SB 2328 appeared on our radar in January, the first high-level policy in Hawaii to focus on the development and adoption of Open Educational Resources. To be sure, the original mandates of the well-intended bill were impossible to effect as they infringed on the academic freedom of faculty. But even as feedback through testimony and hearings improved the bill — by establishing a task force and grant program — and seemed likely to pass, last minute testimony and revised wording marred the bill with inaccurate statements regarding copyright and OER, and the publishing industry came onto the scene. Opinions aside about whether or not a bill for OER is actually needed for it to flourish in Hawaii, the process of following a bill from first introduction to its quiet death offered an interesting look into the legislative process for policy affecting the University of Hawaii (UH)...."