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Two Yavapai College English professors were obliged to answer the age-old question -- what did you do over summer vacation? -- when OER Digest announced to the world on Twitter that the two had collaborated to produce a writing handbook for YC students.

And not just any writing handbook. The RoughWriter’s Guide, as it is affectionally dubbed, is free for all YC students to download and use in their classes.

Dr. Karen Palmer and Dr. Sandi Van Lieu have been riding the OER (Open Educational Resources) bandwagon for some time, countering skyrocketing textbook prices by creating free academic materials for their students. This summer, buoyed by a successful application for a CARES Act Innovation grant that Van Lieu wrote, they decided together to tackle creating the writing guide.

“We had been talking about it for a while – something that would tie all of the English department together. We didn’t have a standard handbook,” Palmer said, noting that a writing handbook she used in college and was using in her English classes at YC had changed only in price over the intervening years. “Every word, every page was exactly the same.”

Over about 200 hours collectively this summer, researching, content-gathering, editing, adapting and writing, the two YC faculty members created a resource that is saving students about $55 dollars each – based on the going rate for online college writing handbooks. That’s money that Palmer and Van Lieu would prefer students spend on things like food for their families.

“It’s hard to comprehend the number of food insecure students there are in our college and in the country. Students are coming to school hungry. It’s hard to succeed when you are in that situation,” Palmer said.

Added Van Lieu: “If you look at the statistics, college textbook costs are one of the only things that have gone through the roof as far as inflation. It’s a problem. It has to change.”

Because the Rough Writers handbook is so new, Palmer and Van Lieu are still spreading the word and gathering feedback. The digital text takes YC English students through the writing process – a teaching model that YC is particularly strong in, Palmer said. “The handbook is really focused on what we do at Yavapai and the whole idea of helping students succeed, putting them first. It’s really Yavapai-driven.”

Although created specifically for YC students, in the spirit of OER, the handbook essentially is available to everyone. “We’re hoping that others outside of the college will use it and adapt it,” Van Lieu said, noting she has already gotten an inquiry about the handbook from a college in Missouri. “We’re starting to see a shift in academia, especially at the community college level. Academia used to be professor-centered, with changes like OER, now we’re very student-centered. And that’s why we’re here.”

 YC Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Interim Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Diane Ryan, who is leading a team dedicated to growing the college’s use of OER  commended Palmer and Van Lieu. “They did an excellent job and the book has already been highlighted on an OER national forum.”

Both Palmer and Van Lieu foresee more free academic text and tool creation in their futures and they hope like-minded YC faculty will follow suit.

“’It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it,” Palmer said. “By doing our small part, maybe we’ll spark a revolution,” Van Lieu said.