Southern Regional Education Board

In partnership, the four higher education regional compacts—Midwestern Higher Education Compact, New England Board of Higher Education, Southern Regional Education Board, and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education — aim to increase access, affordability, and equity using OER. The compacts have formed the National Consortium of Open Educational Resources to advance OER adoption across their member states and the nation. This partnership expands current efforts and engages new opportunities to build capacity for policy and effective practice, enable substantial research, develop open education solutions that promote equitable learning, and support coordination across regions to scale and sustain the use of OER across the country. (Substrategy: Sustainable Systems)

By convening, engaging, and supporting policymakers and practitioners, the Southern Regional Education Board works to improve public education at every level. The Southern region of the United States has historically had higher poverty levels and lower educational achievement than the rest of the country. The South has also struggled more than other regions with teacher shortages and with placing qualified candidates in key subject areas. All 16 states in the region have critical shortages in at least three subject areas. Since teachers have more impact on student performance than any other education resource, finding policy options for addressing these staffing shortages is critical. This grant supports data collection, research, and technical assistance to states as they work to improve the quantity and quality of the teaching force. (Substrategy: Educator Capacity)

In partnership, the four higher education regional compacts — Midwestern Higher Education Compact, New England Board of Higher Education, Southern Regional Education Board, and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education — aim to increase access, affordability, and equity using OER. The compacts have formed the National Consortium of Open Education Resources to advance OER across their member states. With this grant, SREB (as a member of the consortium) will build capacity for policy and effective practice, enable substantial research, and develop open education solutions that promote equitable learning across the country. (Substrategy: Sustainable Systems)