Moving Forward as the Open Education Association

As the open education community prepares to gather for the Open Education Conference, we’re excited to share that the Open Education Association Development Project has officially become the Open Education Association. This marks a key milestone in the collective work to deepen coordination and connection across the open education field.

The idea for a national association first emerged two years ago during a session at the 2023 Open Education Conference, which sparked conversations about how to increase alignment and shared strategy. What began as a collaboration between DOERS, SPARC, and the regional interstate higher education compacts (MHEC, NEBHE, SREB, and WICHE) was later formalized as the Open Education Association Development Project with support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Through this process, hundreds of people contributed ideas and input through webinars, working sessions, and community consultations. The project has now transitioned into the Open Education Association, with its steering committee joining as the very first members.

With this transition, the Open Education Association begins its work as a national organization dedicated to strengthening and connecting the open education field. It exists to help the community work more effectively together—linking people, ideas, and initiatives to create the systems that sustain open sharing over time.

The association will make its debut at the Open Education Conference, where we’ll begin welcoming members. If you’re attending, stop by our sponsor table or virtual exhibit booth to learn more and consider being among the first to join.

In the coming weeks, we’ll share more about the association’s plans and structure, leading up to an official celebration of its launch at the first annual member meeting on December 3 at 3:00 p.m. ET. Register here.

We extend our gratitude to everyone who contributed their time, ideas, and energy to help shape this work—and to all who will join in building the Open Education Association into a strong, sustainable national voice for open education in the years to come.