Andrew Thorne is the Vice President for Distance Education at Toccoa Falls College in Georgia where he oversees admissions for online degree-seeking, dual-enrolled, and graduate students, manages course implementation, and shares responsibility for the faculty hiring and credentialing process with the VP for Academic Affairs.

In 2020, the pandemic forced institutions to rapidly adapt to a new normal. For Toccoa Falls College, this meant addressing the challenges of textbook and lab kit shipping delays, which were causing significant disruptions. In response, the college invested in aligning as many online courses as possible with Open Educational Resources (OERs) through OpenStax and virtual labs through Labster, aiming to create a more accessible learning experience. 

Today, Toccoa Falls College uses OpenStax with Labster for Biology 1 & 2, Anatomy & Physiology 1 & 2, and Chemistry. “Since Labster has partnered with OpenStax, there is a perfect alignment that makes the process easier for everyone. This alignment has been a factor in helping increase enrollment at the college.” 

Growth in enrollment

Toccoa Falls College is bucking the national trend of declining enrollment. “Since 2020, our degree-seeking online student population has gone up 40%, while high school dual enrollment has gone up more than 100%. We can’t say for sure exactly what has helped, but implementing OERs and Labster has taken down barriers along the way.” 

Happy students spread the word

“We’ve seen OERs and Labster help enrollment because having students happy helps enrollment. The more that students are happy with what they’re getting, the more the word spreads that our programs are user-friendly and worth pursuing.”

Happy faculty help students succeed

“Keeping all parties happy and equipped is important - happy teachers help students succeed. If our professors are dealing with fewer roadblocks because of OERs and Labster, then we keep more students, which helps with retention.”

No lab fee

Instead of asking students to purchase course materials, Toccoa Falls College assigns OER textbooks and purchases access to Labster via an institution-wide license. “We offer Labster at no cost to our online students. The textbooks are also free through OpenStax. This means there isn't a lab fee, which makes courses more accessible.”

Student feedback:

• “I truly loved the online labs. They completely informed me on the subjects.”
• “She cared about her students and her passion for the material is obvious. The class was well designed and I enjoyed the labs.”
• “This class has been great, the labs are amazing and the professor was awesome. The nature of the class being online doesn't allow for face to face interaction but it still felt like she was engaged. This is a class I would recommend.”

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