About Us

The Open Education Association is a national membership organization for people working to improve education through open resources and practices. Open education starts from a simple premise: knowledge is a public good, and educational materials work better when learners and educators can freely use, adapt, and share them. Over more than two decades, practitioners at thousands of colleges and universities have built a movement that has expanded access to affordable, effective learning for students and instructors in every state.

Founded in 2025, the Open Education Association grew in response to a clear and consistent signal: local open education work is strong, but it isn't connected in ways that multiply its impact. The association was created to build that connective tissue at the national level. Read more about our history.

The association is the national voice for open education — making the public case, organizing collective action on shared priorities, and advocating for open solutions to problems facing education today. It produces strategic infrastructure that helps the field connect and accomplish more: curated resources, coordinated initiatives, and the Open Education Conference, the field's largest and longest-running annual gathering. See what we’re working on.

Membership is open to individuals whose work or interests connect to open education in any form. Members shape the association's direction through working groups, committees, and leadership roles, and gain access to professional learning, collaborative networks, and programming that strengthens their work. Together, members make sure this work continues, and that the future of education is one where knowledge is shared rather than locked away. Learn more about membership.