Open Access Policy

National Resource Hub Open Access Policy

  1. Introduction

The National Resource Hub is committed to providing open and unrestricted access to high-quality educational resources. This policy outlines our commitment to Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP) to ensure that materials hosted on the platform are freely accessible, reusable, and shareable in alignment with best practices in open education.

  1. Open Access Commitment

The National Resource Hub is founded on the principles of openness, transparency, and accessibility. Our commitment includes:

  • Making all resources freely available to users without paywalls or subscriptions.
  • Promoting the use of Creative Commons (CC) licenses to facilitate sharing and reuse.
  • Encouraging Open Educational Practices (OEP) to enhance collaboration and co-creation in teaching and learning.
  • Ensuring that resources are accessible to a diverse audience, including individuals with disabilities.
  • Supporting interoperability with other open education platforms and repositories.
  • Aligning with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) to enhance the discoverability and long-term usability of educational resources.

  1. OER and OEP Integration

The National Resource Hub recognises the importance of Open Educational Practices (OEP) to enhance learning experiences. This includes:

  • Encouraging educators to engage in co-creation and peer collaboration of learning materials.
  • Supporting open pedagogy approaches where students actively contribute to the development of resources.
  • Facilitating open assessment practices to ensure transparency and inclusivity in learning.
  • Promoting the adaptation and customisation of OER to meet specific educational needs.

  1. Licensing and Copyright

To maximise the impact and usability of OER, we require that all submitted resources adhere to the following licensing guidelines:

  • Contributors must select and apply an appropriate open license (e.g., Creative Commons (CC) including CC BY, CC BY-SA, or CC BY-NC) that allows for reuse and adaptation.
  • Copyright remains with the original author(s), but resources must be openly licensed to enable broad use.
  • Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submitted resources do not infringe on third-party copyrights.

  1. Persistent Identification

The National Resource Hub currently utilises OAI-PMH (Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting) for metadata interoperability and resource discovery. To support proper citation and long-term access, each published resource will be assigned an equivalent persistent identifier through OAI-PMH and other standardized metadata protocols. This ensures:

  • Resources remain accessible even if URLs change.
  • Proper attribution and scholarly recognition of educational materials.
  • Integration with global academic and research repositories.

  1. Accessibility and Inclusivity

The National Resource Hub is committed to ensuring that all resources comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) standards. This includes:

  • Providing alternative text for images and multimedia.
  • Ensuring resources are compatible with screen readers and assistive technologies.
  • Encouraging the submission of transcripts and captions for audio and video materials.

  1. Submission and Review Process
  • Contributors must ensure that submitted resources meet quality and relevance standards.
  • Resources may undergo an administrative review process before being published.
  • The Hub reserves the right to remove or modify resources that do not comply with this Open Access Policy.

  1. Attribution and Citation

Users are encouraged to properly attribute resources in accordance with their respective Creative Commons licenses. When citing materials from the National Resource Hub, users should include:

  • Author(s) name(s)
  • Resource title
  • Permanent link
  • License type

  1. Preservation and Sustainability

To ensure long-term availability of resources, the Hub:

  • Maintains a backup system for all published materials.
  • Adopts best practices for metadata management to facilitate global discovery.

  1. Policy Review and Updates

This policy will be periodically reviewed to align with international best practices in Open Access, Open Educational Resources (OER), and Open Educational Practices (OEP). Users and contributors are encouraged to provide feedback for continuous improvement.

For questions regarding this policy, please contact: admin@teachingandlearning.ie