{"id":148238,"date":"2026-03-18T23:58:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T03:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=148238"},"modified":"2026-03-18T23:59:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T03:59:06","slug":"ncc-receives-grant-from-ppl-foundation-for-oer-educational-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=148238","title":{"rendered":"NCC RECEIVES GRANT FROM PPL FOUNDATION FOR OER EDUCATIONAL MODEL"},"content":{"rendered":"

PPL foundation provides vital funding to move large scale project forward<\/em><\/p>\n

BETHLEHEM, PA<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0Northampton Community College (NCC)\u00a0has received a $10,000\u00a0grant from the\u00a0PPL Foundation<\/strong>. These funds will be used to support NCC\u2019s\u00a0goal of creating an open source educational environment at NCC.<\/p>\n

NCC is advancing its commitment to affordable, accessible education through the development of\u00a0Open Educational Resources (OER)<\/strong>\u2014freely available, openly licensed teaching materials that can be adapted and shared. At NCC, leaders believe that the cost of textbooks should never stand in the way of a student pursuing a career. These resources allow students to access course materials at no cost while ensuring curriculum remains flexible, current, and aligned with workforce needs.<\/p>\n

The initiative will begin with several\u00a0pilot courses launching in fall<\/strong>, with a long-term plan to expand the model over the next\u00a0three years<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Leadership for the project includes Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Information Technology,\u00a0Marshal Miller,\u00a0<\/strong>and Executive Director of Innovation & Strategy,\u00a0Dustin Briggs<\/strong>, who will guide the strategy, management, and implementation of an Open Innovation Office at the College.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy empowering faculty to create and adapt open educational resources, we are building an ecosystem that lowers cost to students, while keeping our curriculum innovative and relevant,\u201d says Miller.<\/p>\n

The PPL Foundation has provided the initial support necessary to move this project forward.\u00a0NCC is awaiting review of a\u00a0National Science Foundation (NSF) grant proposal<\/strong>\u00a0focused on STEM education. If awarded, the grant would support the development of open-source course content from start to finish for science and mathematics classes. The project would allow for re-design of\u00a010 courses<\/strong>\u00a0using open resources and expanded digital content.<\/p>\n

The initiative will help students gain valuable skills working with open source platforms\u2014particularly in fields such as\u00a0computer science<\/a>\u2014giving them hands-on experience that can strengthen their resumes.<\/p>\n

Open resource content also fosters collaboration between educators across institutions. By sharing materials with other colleges and inviting contributions from educators nationwide, NCC aims to build an ecosystem that strengthens course quality and expands access to knowledge.<\/p>\n

About the PPL Foundation\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The PPL Foundation empowers communities in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island by supporting student success from cradle to career and promoting the development of vibrant and sustainable communities. To learn more, visit\u00a0pplcares.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About Northampton Community College<\/strong><\/p>\n

With an enduring commitment to the regional communities it serves and a focus on student success, Northampton Community College is an educational institution of extraordinary distinction, earning accolades at the state and national levels for innovative programs, outstanding faculty, and impressive student achievements. It counts among its successful alumni a four-time Pulitzer Prize winner and an Academy Award winning director, as well as a host of CEOs, presidents, and leaders of business and industry. Today, Northampton Community College has locations in Bethlehem, Southside Bethlehem, and Monroe County, serving 30,000 students annually from 53 counties, 42 countries, and 25 states. For more information or to apply, please visit\u00a0northampton.edu<\/a>.\u00a0Follow NCC on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>, Instagram\u00a0@NorthamptonCommCollege<\/a>, TikTok\u00a0@NorthamptonCC<\/a>, and\u00a0Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PPL foundation provides vital funding to move large scale project forward BETHLEHEM, PA\u00a0–\u00a0Northampton Community College (NCC)\u00a0has received a $10,000\u00a0grant from the\u00a0PPL Foundation. These funds will be used to support NCC\u2019s\u00a0goal … Continue reading NCC RECEIVES GRANT FROM PPL FOUNDATION FOR OER EDUCATIONAL MODEL<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114454,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/nccc.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148238"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=148238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/114454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=148238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=148238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=148238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}