Open Education Resources (OERs)

Applications are not being accepted at this time. Please stay tuned for future announcements.

The OER Development Grant (OERDG) program at TRU provides funding and staff support to TRUFA and TRUOLFA members who wish to integrate open educational resources (OER) into their TRU courses. This direct support can be used by faculty to adopt, adapt, create, and/or integrate OER as primary materials within their TRU courses.

Integrating OER into your courses may involve adopting or adapting an existing open textbook, creating a new open textbook, or creating supplementary resources such as test banks, case studies, lab manual, videos, assessment tools, etc.

The purpose of this initiative is:

• To support faculty to integrate OER into their courses (through course release or other financial support/incentive)
• To build capacity at TRU for creating and adapting open textbooks and other OER that are up to date and appropriate for TRU curricula
• To demonstrate TRU’s commitment to student needs as outlined in TRUSU’s Open Textbook Grants Program proposal.

This grant program was originally funded by a Strategic Initiative Fund (SIF) Grant, but was later funded out of the Provost's Office on a short-term basis. 

The project is administered by the University Library, the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT), and Open Learning. 

Successful applicants may receive up to $6,500 to be used for course release or financial incentive to help faculty redesign a TRU course to use OER as their primary course material, and to help them adopt and/or adapt open textbooks and other OER for that purpose. An additional $500 may be available to support dissemination of results of their efforts. 

Successful applicants are encouraged to work closely with faculty and staff from the University Library and CELT who will be available to assist recipients in locating, evaluating, and adapting high-quality open resources as an alternative to commercial course materials. Support staff in Open Learning are available to assist with digital formats, text editing, and layout needs.

Eligibility 

Current limited-term, tenure-track, or tenured TRUFA or TRUOLFA members are eligible to hold an OER Development Grant (OERDG). Faculty members, individually or jointly, as well as course teams may submit grant proposals.

Application Process

Application for OER development grant must include the following:

• completed application form (see Apply Now! box below)
• TRUFA members: letters of support from both your dean AND your department chair 
• TRUOLFA members: a letter of support from the Director, Curriculum Development and Delivery, Paul Martin 

Eligible Expenses

• Course release coverage at a sessional rate (for TRUFA members) OR resource development cost up to $6500
• Support for student research assistants
• Support for persons with a particular expertise/skill set not found in the Library, CELT, or Open Learning
• Development of data collection instruments and support for data collection and analysis
• Costs for dissemination of findings (not to exceed 20% of total award)

Expectations of Grant Recipients

• Attend a mandatory planning meeting to develop a project plan with a team comprised of the OERDG Coordinator and members of the University Library, CELT, Instructional Design, and others as appropriate
• Willingness to share experiences with colleagues at TRU events (such as workshops) or through communications activities arranged by the University Library, CELT, and/or Open Learning
• Providing brief summary reports on the grant activity using provided template (up to 2 pages) half way through the project and at the end of the project
• Making the end product “open” with a Creative Commons licence and accessible (e.g., using TRUSpace, TRU’s institutional repository)
• Plans to (re)use open educational resource in courses in the future.

In Kind Support

Grant recipients will benefit from the expertise of the Open Education Librarian who can assist with identifying and evaluating suitable OER, and with the application of Creative Commons licenses. CELT may consult with curriculum development and course design. Open Learning can provide instructional design expertise, support in technology and educational media, and text editing and layout. 

Evaluation of Applications

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria: 

• Extent to which the project includes curation and customization of open educational resources that will be freely and openly shared throughout and beyond TRU
• Potential impact on student experience in the form of high-quality materials, maximum access (e.g., Creative Commons licenses), open and innovative pedagogy, and cost savings to students
• Inclusion of plans to re-use open educational resources in courses in subsequent semesters
• Extent to which the open educational resources could be used in an Open Learning course, if applicable
• Distribution of grants across a range of disciplines

Contact the Open Education Librarian, Brenda Smith, for help on finding what OER resources are currently available in your field and/or to find out more about having an OER sprint.

Please contact the OER Development Grant Project Coordinator, Christine Miller for all other questions.