BCcampus Award for Excellence in Open Education: Hope Power

We’re excited to announce this month’s recipient of the BCcampus Award for Excellence in Open Education is Hope Power, teaching and learning librarian, Simon Fraser University.

Nominated by Nathan Roberson, educational research developer, Institute for the Study of Teaching and Learning in the Disciplines, Simon Fraser University (SFU).

Hope Power is an open education champion whose advocacy has resulted in an official statement from the SFU Senate recognizing and celebrating open education. Showcasing the best of open education’s tenets, she has collaborated on open education initiatives with many in the library where she works as well as in other units, such as the Institute for the Study of Teaching and Learning in the Disciplines.

Between 2016 and 2019, Hope worked with SFU units to administer the first Open Educational Resources (OER) Grants program at the institution that aimed to assist faculty with the redesign of a course to use OER as primary course materials. Decreasing the cost of textbooks and increasing access to learning resources continues to be a priority for SFU students: it is estimated that OER grants saved students more than $1.2 million over three years, in addition to providing professional development for instructors in the creation of flexible learning resources. (To learn more about the outcomes of OER grant funding at SFU, read the OER Grants Program: Year Three Report [PDF].) In 2021 Hope helped launch a second Open Education Grant Program Pilot to conduct research inquiry into the use of OER and open pedagogy on student learning and teaching.

As a library representative, Hope has worked tirelessly to recognize and celebrate open education at SFU through institutional advocacy with the student Senate. She drafted and advocated for an SFU Senate statement in support of open education and open pedagogies that was released in spring 2022.

Hope also organizes the university-wide OER Working Group, which includes faculty, students, and multiple staff departments. She has collaborated with others on open education initiatives in the library and across campus, including with the Simon Fraser Student Society, Centre for Educational Excellence, bookstore, and Institute for the Study of Teaching and Learning in the Disciplines.

Hope embodies the values of open education through her willingness to collaborate and advance participation and inclusivity in education and society. She is consistently available to instructors and keen to connect them with resources at SFU, in B.C., and more broadly to advance open education. Hope is thoughtful and caring in her approach to educational excellence through the use of open education, and she is well deserving of this award.

Notable Quote:

“Hope has been such a positive driving force for open education at the SFU Library and beyond. Her commitment to advancing open education is evident both in the bigger picture strategy and advocacy work she does and also in her day-to-day work with faculty, students, and staff at SFU. This acknowledgement of the high calibre of her work is definitely well deserved!”
— Ania Dymarz, head, Learning & Instructional Services, Simon Fraser University

You can follow Hope on Twitter (@hopepower).