Paid Faculty Program Call for Proposals Open

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Each semester, the University of Arkansas Libraries and Global Campus offer faculty compensation to reduce the cost of textbooks for their students by using Open Educational Resources. The Spring 2021 Call for Proposals is now open. 

Faculty can apply to the Course Materials Conversion Program to receive extra compensation. Successful applicants can receive $3,000 for adopting OER, $4,500 for adapting OER, or $7,500 for creating their own. Visit the OER Course Materials Conversion Program website to learn more about the program and the differences between these three options.  

"The Global Campus supports this U of A initiative to reduce the cost of textbooks while ensuring high-quality materials for students," said Cheryl Murphy, vice provost for distance education. "We believe investing in faculty is key to fostering teaching innovation and student success." 

All potential applicants must first schedule pre-application consultations before March 12, during which they will receive an application form. After the consultation, potential participants will have until March 18 to complete applications. Submitted project applications are reviewed and scored by the Open Educational Resources team and the campus advisory group.  

"We are excited to invite faculty once again to participate in the OER Course Materials Conversion Program," said Elaine Thornton, open education and distance learning librarian. "This program supports faculty efforts to adopt and create innovative teaching resources that fit the needs of their students while helping reduce the cost of attendance for University of Arkansas students. The growing U of A faculty interest in OER has helped broaden the reach of low and no-cost course materials across the disciplines. We want to continue supporting this growth.  We are happy to consult with faculty at any time about OER project ideas."   

The OER Course Materials Conversion Program began providing funding to faculty in 2017. Since then, over 3,600 students have benefited from the reduced cost of course materials.