OhioLink offers grants to start redesigning your course using Open Educational Resources

Academics, Faculty & Staff, Training

Mar 25, 2024

Open Educational Resources poster — Image from https://www.ohiolink.edu

All full-time and adjunct faculty members are invited to apply for a grant from OhioLINK (Ohio Library and Information Network) to redesign a course using Open Educational Resources (OER).

According to the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), Open Educational Resources are teaching, learning, and research resources that are free of cost and other access barriers, and carry legal permission for open use. Generally, this permission is granted by use of an open license, allowing anyone to freely use, adapt, and share the resource.
For the Spring 2024 grants, up to 30 faculty members statewide will be selected to receive a $650 stipend and personalized assistance in redesigning a course and incorporating OER to make the course more accessible and affordable for students.
Faculty members selected for the grant will participate in an asynchronous online course, “Introduction to Open Educational Resources,” from May 20 to June 14, 2024. The course has four modules, and each should take 1 or 2 hours to complete.

Applications for OhioLINK OER Course Redesign Grants for Spring 2024 are due Friday, April 19. In addition to the application form, you’ll submit the syllabus for the course you are interested in redesigning, and your dean or program/department chair must send a brief statement of support.

Along with the online course, other grant activities include:
- Attend at least one synchronous Zoom discussion session (out of 3 options).
- Review at least one openly-licensed, library-licensed, or low-cost resource in your discipline by June 14.
- Create a curriculum map to align the open access or low-cost resource to your course (due July 19, 2024).
- Write a short report outlining how you will take action to implement the use of the openly licensed content across all sections/semesters of your course (due July 19, 2024).
For more about the grant, visit https://www.ohiolink.edu/content/affordablelearning/course_redesign_grants.

Five Cincinnati State faculty members have been awarded OER Course Redesign grants in past years.

2022 grant recipient Kelly Hubbard (Program Chair, Early Childhood Education) said, “The information in the OER grant curriculum was eye opening for me. I learned that OER goes beyond just using ‘free’ or ‘supplementary’ materials.”

“The turn-around time for the grant work was tight, but I’ve found some great new materials that provide more in-depth and current information for my course,” Kelly added.
Another 2022 grant recipient, Milene Donlin (Biology) commented, “I would recommend the OER grant to anyone with little or no OER experience. You’ll learn more about OER licenses and resources that may become primary or supplementary learning materials in your courses.”

“The ability to collaborate with our Cincinnati State Library staff during the grant project makes it possible to consider adopting OER materials,” Milene said.

You can learn more about OER in the Cincinnati State Library Guide to OER. If you have questions, contact Library Director Crissy Ross (crissy.ross@cincinnatisate.edu).