When students at Pierce College on Joint Base Lewis-McChord start their fall quarter Sept. 21, many will take courses that are textbook-free - enjoying significant cost savings and experiencing a wholly new way of learning.

Pierce College is the third community college in the United States and the first college in Washington state to use openly licensed materials. Students may now complete an Associate of Arts two-year university transfer degree under the Pierce Open Pathways program (POP), which allows for all courses to be taken textbook-free utilizing openly licensed materials online selected by the instructor and made available for students on Canvas, a learning management system.

Quill West, the Open Education project manager, said active-duty military enrolled at Pierce College are uniquely suited for this.

"(Military students) have a view of the world that most textbook publishers don't have," West said. "Because of our faculty being so close to our students, they understand the challenges of the student group. Our (openly licensed) materials can conform to the learning experiences of our students. Instead of designing a course where there are huge chunks of reading, we may design courses that have chunks of reading but also video and audio embedded in the reading."

Mark Lawlis, a business instructor at Pierce College on JBLM, said POP represents a good marriage between student outcomes and open resource materials.

Having materials available online saves students money, and as an instructor, "I can go into a lecture and talk about concepts. I can bring in outside resources (to the lecture).

"I've always tried to make the lecture real," Lawlis said. "I try to take it down to the student. Faculty loses students if it's not relevant to them. If you try to teach traditionally, it doesn't work."

Student Krystal Lawson said it is because of her experience with POP that she will attend the fall quarter at Pierce taking all POP courses. POP courses were available on a limited scale prior to fall quarter.

"I love that Pierce has given us the option to be able to fully complete a degree online, and without having to spend the extra money on materials," Lawson said.

Mark Haskins, executive director of Pierce College at JBLM, said students have choked up at the possibility of not having to pay anything for materials. However, cost savings is only one part of the benefits equation, he said.

"It's going to provide much greater stability for our students. They can map out whatever class they need to take each quarter and know those classes will be offered. We believe it's a more relevant way of learning for the 21st century. No career lives in a textbook, neither should a classroom."

To learn more, visit www.pierce.ctc.edu/military/about/pop.