General WisTech Open updates, as well as updates from each of their respective editors, for the third quarter can be found below. Note that the Open RN brand, textbooks, and related resources will all be maintained and sustained through WisTech Open. If you’d like to get involved or propose a new project, visit www.cvtc.edu/WisTech.

General Updates

• 📢 Grant Extension:
  The Open RN grant received a one-year, no-cost extension from the Department of Education, extending through February 29, 2024. During this period, second editions of the Open RN textbooks will be developed, incorporating updates based on the newly released 2023 NCLEX Test Plans, which include new information related to the assessment of nursing graduates’ clinical judgment.
• 📘 Textbook Publications:
  Five Open RN OER textbooks have been published and are available on the Open RN website. Collaborating with XanEdu, affordable print versions are also available. The fifth print version, Mental Health & Community Concepts, will be available in January 2023. XanEdu donates $5 from every Open RN print version sold to a specially earmarked Sustainability Fund, which will be used to routinely update the Open RN textbooks after grant funding ends. Free PDFs of the print versions can be downloaded from the Open RN website. To order print versions from XanEdu, email textbookorders@xanedu.com.
• 🌍 Global Reach:
  As of December 1, there are over 2.3 million international users of the online Open RN textbooks, with over 5.9 million page views. One or more Open RN textbooks have been adopted by 12 Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) colleges, as well as by 45 additional colleges across the United States and Canada.
• 📊 Course Impact:
  During the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years, Open RN textbooks were used in 307 WTCS course sections, impacting 3,364 non-replicated students and 4,092 course enrollments. Course completion rates (A-F) and successful course completion rates (A-C) in OER sections were similar to WTCS benchmarks. Additionally, there was a 2% higher successful course completion rate (A-C) for minority students in OER sections. Data collection and analysis will continue for the 2022-2023 academic year.
• 🛠️ Advanced Skills Textbook:
  A sixth Open RN OER textbook, Advanced Skills, has been created and will be piloted in WTCS courses in January 2023. This book builds upon concepts in the Open RN Nursing Skills book and includes advanced skills performed by registered nurses, such as intravenous infusion, blood product administration, management of central lines and chest tube systems, basic electrocardiogram interpretation, and nasogastric/feeding tube insertion. Video demonstrations of skills will be included in the book and uploaded to the Open RN YouTube Channel in early 2023.
• 📘 Nursing Assistant Textbook:
  A seventh OER textbook, Nursing Assistant, was developed with HEERF funding using Open RN workflows and processes. Video demonstrations of associated skills will be added to this book and uploaded to the Open RN YouTube Channel in January 2023. A Student Workbook with CC BY licensing is also being created and will be released in Canvas Commons in June 2023. The Nursing Assistant program prepares approximately 8,000 WTCS students annually for employment as nursing assistants and for entry into many health programs. It is projected that the Nursing Assistant OER textbook will save WTCS students over $654,000 annually, with the OER Student Workbook saving an additional $197,000 annually.
• 🧠 Next Gen RN Project:
  A spinoff project called “Next Gen RN,” funded by a WTCS Core Grant, is customizing the LibreText ADAPT software platform to create NCLEX “Next-Gen” style case studies and item types as formative assessments. These assessments can be integrated into Learning Management Systems and will provide links to related Open RN textbook content. WTCS faculty will begin uploading Next-Gen style case studies with various item types to the ADAPT platform in the Spring semester of 2023.