Final Call for Open Educational Resources Faculty Funding

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Each semester, the U of A Libraries and Global Campus offer compensation for faculty to reduce the cost of textbooks for their students by using open educational resources. Two paid programs are now accepting applications, and each faculty member may apply to participate in one program.  

Faculty can apply to the Open Educational Resources Course Materials Conversion Program to receive $3,000 for adopting open educational resources, $4,500 for adapting open educational resources 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.  

Applications are also open for faculty who wish to participate in the Spring 2022 Affordable/OER Course Redesign Workshop. Faculty must apply to attend and will receive $1,500 for completing all workshop requirements. The workshop provides an opportunity to learn more about open educational resources, open pedagogy and the intersection of openness, social justice, diversity and access issues. Participants will consider, plan or implement the conversion of a course they teach that currently utilizes traditionally published textbooks to an open and/or more affordable model. In place of creating a full textbook, library resources, open materials and free resources can be curated and embedded in online course materials. 

"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 for the conversion program or workshop must first schedule a pre-application consultation before Monday, Oct. 18, during which they will receive an application form. After the consultation, applications must be submitted by Thursday, Oct. 21. Submitted project applications are reviewed and scored by the Open Educational Resources Team and 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. Our spring workshop program is also an option for faculty who want to learn more about OER, affordability and course design. We look forward to conducting the workshop sessions virtually. 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 8,100 students have benefited from the reduced cost of course materials. The Finding Open Educational Resources research guide provides additional information about open educational resources and how to find them.