WC Wisconsin News

CVTC releases free textbook for nursing assistant students

Chippewa Valley Technical College released its first edition of the online Nursing Assistant Open Educational Resource textbook, which will be an impressive cost-saving for students.

It’s projected that the book will impact more than 7,800 Wisconsin Technical College System students each year with a $654,000 savings in textbook costs annually. Typically, students purchase books to accompany their program studies, but this free, online textbook will eliminate that cost.

The book was developed by Myra Sandquist Reuter, CVTC executive dean of Allied Health and emergency services, by using Open RN workflows and processes. The project was funded by the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) grant.

“We are pleased to release this free, Open Educational Resource created for students in the nursing assistant program at CVTC and other WTCS colleges,” Sandquist Reuter said.

The Open RN project has published five free OER nursing textbooks that have been adopted by dozens of colleges throughout the United States.

Gina Petrie, CVTC dean of nursing, said with nursing assistants in high demand, free resources like this will help students on their educational journey.

“Decreasing financial barriers for students can open possibilities for them to enroll and complete the course, allowing us to help meet the workforce shortage of nursing assistants in our region,” she said. 

Original source can be found here.