WVU Libraries and the Teaching and Learning Commons are continuing their partnership to support the use of and the development of Open Educational Resources through a grant program for instructors.
The grant’s aim is to encourage development of alternatives to high-cost textbooks, lower the cost of college attendance for students and support faculty who wish to implement new pedagogical models for classroom instruction.
Grants will be awarded in three categories:
Incorporate – Replace an existing commercial textbook with a no- or low-cost alternative such that total textbook costs for the course are less than $50. Example: Use an Open Textbook Network mathematics textbook in Math 121. These grants will range from $300 to $500.
Innovate – Replace a commercial textbook with an open textbook and use freely licensed materials to bridge the gap in available resources through remix of new and/or existing openly licensed content. Example: Compile an introductory textbook for genetics by incorporating revised openly available works with chapters from an OER commons textbook and create ancillary materials and homework. These grants will range from $1,500 to $2500.
Create – Develop a new OER where there is currently no sufficient OER available to meet your learning objectives. Examples: Author a new openly licensed textbook or collaborate with students on the creation of a new textbook. These grants will range from $2,500 to $3,500.
Submit proposals at this website before the March 31 deadline.
The OER Committee, which worked to develop the grants, will evaluate and select proposals based on detailed project description and scope, and potential impact on the student experience and total projected cost savings to students. Awardees agree to use their textbooks in courses taught in fall 2020 or spring 2021, and then submit a course review/report.
Available support resources will include consultations with a TLC Instructional Designer to discuss options to utilize OER materials in alignment with course objectives and with a liaison librarian to assist in finding content, analyzing rights and other issues.
Last year’s recipients included Corey Colyer, associate professor of sociology, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences; Caleb Holloway, assistant professor of mathematics, Leonard C. Nelson College of Engineering & Sciences, WVU Institute of Technology; and Chris McClain, assistant professor of mathematics, Nelson College, WVU Tech.
For more information, contact Martha Yancey, chair of the WVU Libraries Open Educational Resources Committee, at 304.293.5039 or martha.yancey@mail.wvu.edu.