Introduction

A SWOT analysis looks at strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. These can be internal and external. In the context of your institution's OER program, you can use a SWOT analysis to:

Identify local resources and allies (existing and potential).
Identify local barriers to open education adoption, as well as specific strategies for overcoming these obstacles.
Identify potential roadblocks (people, policies, etc.) to OER adoption at your campus.

A chart showing Strengths (internal/helpful), Weaknesses (internal/harmful), Opportunities (external/helpful), and Threats (external/harmful)

"SWOT Analysis" by Xhienne is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5

Higher Education Context

Higher education is a complex and unique ecosystem. Institutions may be dealing with a range of issues related to tenure, faculty academic freedom, scholarly communication and open access, budget cuts and/or decreased state funding, competition for grant money, rising student loan debt, low graduation rates, and much more.

Read "SWOT Analysis," from Lumen Learning's Principles of Marketing, which features an analysis for a fictional college.

Questions to Consider¹

These are just a starting point. Don't feel like you have to answer every question:

Strengths

What makes my institution unique?
How can we leverage our institution’s strengths in our OER program?
In what ways does our OER program benefit our institution, students, faculty, and staff (e.g., reputation, cost savings, student success, equal access, social justice, teaching)?
What is our track record of OER success?
Which aspects of my institution’s strategic plan are advanced by our OER program?
What resources are available at my institution? Which ones are we utilizing?
What expertise/skills do leaders of our OER program have?
Who are our current partners in OER? How are they helping?
Who are our faculty champions? What role do they play?
If there is strong administrative support, how does that benefit our OER program?
If there are existing policies/campaigns related to OER or textbook affordability, how can we leverage those?
What makes our OER program unique?

Weaknesses

What improvements need to be made to our OER program?

What are our metrics for success and how well are we measuring/tracking them?
What necessary expertise/skills do we currently lack?
What necessary resources do we currently lack?
Which institutional partnerships need to be established or improved?
How can we foster student advocacy?
How do we start conversations and build support?
How well are we communicating our successes and progress?

What obstacles exist to OER adoption at our institution? Think of potential roadblocks in terms of:

- People (or units/departments)
- Policies (e.g., intellectual property, textbook policies)
- Institutional climate/politics
- Faculty concerns (e.g., tenure, workload)
- Administrative/state support for OER
- Resources (e.g., time, money, personnel)
- Infrastructure (e.g., editing/publishing support for OER, grant program)
- Technology
- Expertise (e.g., copyright, instructional design)
- Training needs
- Awareness of OER
Does our institution lack policies/campaigns related to OER or textbook affordability? Or, do our existing policies/campaigns need improvement?
If our OER program is run by a single person, is there a succession plan in case that person leaves?
If there are good opportunities we’re not taking advantage of, what are the barriers or reasons why?

Opportunities

Which external funding opportunities could we pursue (e.g., from our state, consortium, the federal government, philanthropic groups, alumni, donors, crowdsourcing)?
Which consortia, networks, or other communities could we join to support our OER efforts?
Which local, state, and/or regional partnerships could we form?
Which free or low-cost technology solutions and resources could we utilize?
Which trends in higher education could we build upon (e.g., growth in online courses; emphasis on active learning, open pedagogy, and instructional design)?
What can we learn from other institutions’ OER programs?
Which resources developed by other institutions would be beneficial for us to adopt/adapt? Think in terms of:

Marketing materials
Metrics of success
Templates
Best practices
Event ideas

How could we overcome the threats below? What are potential solutions?

Threats

What kind of competition do commercial publishers’ products pose to OER?
If content from commercial publishers is more appealing to faculty than OER, why is that?
How do “openwashing” and “openwrapping” affect our OER efforts?
Which subject areas lack OER that our faculty want?
Which ancillary materials are lacking in the OER ecosystem (e.g., courseware)?
What technology challenges do our users face with OER?
For our users with disabilities, what are the accessibility issues?
What external funding threats exist (e.g., budget cuts, drop in student enrollment, grant cycle ending)?
Which OER myths or misconceptions hinder our efforts?

SOAR Analysis

A SOAR Analysis is a framework for identifying Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations and Results. It is presented as a 2x2 matrix and works in any business involved in any marketplace. Unlike some other frameworks, SOAR marries up fact finding about the company and position, alongside the desires of the stakeholders. If SOAR works better for you than SWOT, please feel free to use it.

SOAR Analysis Empty Chart: Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results

SOAR Analysis [empty chart] by Stavros, Cooperrider & Kelley (2003)

Footnotes

Questions are adapted from "SWOT Analysis" by Nohea Reveley-Mahan, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, and "OER Champion Playbook" by Lumen Learning, licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Next

Now you get to put what you've just read into action. To get to the Module 5 Activity: Preparing a SWOT Analysis, select the Next button.