I’m not sure who Kevin Donovan is, but I just read this Georgetown student’s recent proposal that Georgetown produce OpenCourseWare, and it’s a great example of not only how to make the case as a student, but of how to make the OCW case in general.

He starts by directly citing a founding principle of the University:

“The age of nations is past. It remains for us now, if we do not wish to perish, to
set aside ancient prejudices and build the earth.”
**
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.

The world has changed remarkably since Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. uttered those striking words which remain prominently affixed to the wall of the ICC, but today they ring as true as ever. The cosmopolitan character of both the Jesuits and Georgetown University reflect the sentiment of Teilhard and make a formative impression on students, faculty, and observers who look to Georgetown for scholastic leadership, an international perspective and innovative thinking.

Today, Georgetown has a unique opportunity to expand this institutional importance through the embrace of open educational resources. The international movement towards open educational resources has been made possible through improvements in information technology and an increasing recognition that openness is a necessary component of education.

He then demonstrates how OCW can provide benefits in the areas of social justice, reputation, scholastic collaboration, and increased quality, citing much material on the way, and relentlessly tying it to Georgetown’s stated goals. Here’s an example from the Social Justice section:

Unique to Georgetown is the level to which social justice is incorporated into its educational mission. Social justice is foundational to what it means to be a Hoya, past or present. It is not a separate sphere, relegated to time outside learning.

OpenCourseWare recognizes that education is a non-rival public good – one person’s use does not detract from the next person’s experience. As development economist Amartya Sen writes, “The persons receiving education do, of course, benefit from it, but addition a general expansion of education and literacy in a region can facilitate social change and also help to enhance economic progress from which others too benefit.”

And his closing brings it all together:

Even a cursory understanding of the Georgetown Mission Statement supports this vision of OCW: it speaks of a “serious and sustained discourse” among broad groups of disparate people by embodying “our commitment to justice and the common good, our intellectual openness, and our international character.” The tradition of Georgetown is in breaking boundaries and typifying academic excellence. OpenCourseWare reflects those words of Teilhard, speaking of removing ancient barriers and uniting across them. As a student who desires the best for both Georgetown and the global community of learners, I hope this goal is realized and the sentiment of Teilhard’s words recognized.

It’s really quite an elegant pitch for a student to make, but it has its lessons for everyone. If you are pitching OCW to your institution, you owe it to yourself to read this proposal.