For twenty years the open education movement built its case as a solution to expensive textbooks, and it worked. Thousands of institutions launched programs, dozens of states passed policies, and students saved billions of dollars, with a growing body of research documenting the effect on affordability and student success.

Making that same case has become harder. The textbook industry co-opted our affordability language to market automatic billing programs, and AI has changed the environment around teaching and content production faster than anyone's messaging has kept up. Open education is more relevant to the problems facing higher education than it has ever been, but it is too often absent from the rooms where decisions get made.

This process will build a shared framework for the future of open education advocacy at the national level. The need for coordination is more important now than ever with ongoing changes in the policy and funding landscape. 

• Collaboratively identify and select a set of national priorities for open education in the U.S.

• Build plans and momentum around coordinated actions that can advance the priorities over the next three years 

• Reassert open education's power and relevance as a solution to problems facing education today

A national priority is a specific problem that open education can solve that is already on the minds of leaders and policymakers. By identifying a set of shared priorities and collectively building plans around them, the open education field can have an even larger impact at the national level.

To be selected at the summit, priorities will need to meet the following criteria:

• Connected to a problem that is present in the national discourse among education leaders, policymakers, and/or funders

• Open educational resources or practices offer a compelling solution that cannot be achieved through closed approaches

• It is possible to articulate specific goals with a clear theory of change that is achievable within a three year timeframe

• There is existing groundwork underway or significant interest within the field to work on the priority

National priorities are meant to be additive: something shared that the field can work toward together, while continuing work on their respective state, institutional, and program-level priorities.

• Kickoff | August 12: The process kicks off with a public webinar explaining the process and inviting the field to participate. Applications open for at-large delegate seats at the summit.

• Open Consultation Process | August - October: The association, as well as other organizations and communities across the field, will hold listening sessions to discuss potential priorities and gather information on what work is already being done. Potential priorities will be tracked on a public board for anyone to contribute to.

• Draft Priorities Shared | October 26: A shortlist of priorities will be shared at a pre-conference event before the Open Education Conference, and final input is invited from the public ahead of the national summit.

• National Summit | November 10-12: A national summit will be held in Chicago with delegates representing the open education field. The summit will be a working meeting where delegates engage in deep discussion about the shortlist of priorities, build plans, and decide on a final list. 

• Synthesis and Report Out | Early 2027: A report-out document will be published detailing the final set of priorities, as well as a summary of everything contributed throughout the consultation process. Organizations, individuals and institutions across the field will be encouraged to join working groups and commit to actions.  

The Open Education National Summit is the culmination of the national priorities process. It will be held November 10-12 in Chicago and is an invitation-only, in-person event. The summit is not a conference. It is a working event meant to bring together representatives from across the open education field to review input from the field, select a final list of priorities, and start building plans.

For more information about the summit and how to apply for an invitation, visit the summit webpage.

Everyone who believes in open education as a solution is invited to participate—no matter how long you’ve been involved, what your role is, or which networks you’re part of. This process is meant to be collaborative, and it’s not complete without you!

• Contribute to the priorities idea board

• Attend a listening session

• Host a listening session

• Apply to attend the national summit

• Sign up for updates