SUNY has provided the SUNY Broome campus with funding to support and promote the adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER). OER are teaching and learning resources that are covered under an intellectual property license that permits modification, repurposing and redistribution by others.
The OER Steering Committee is offering OER Adoption Awards of up to $500 to faculty who adopt existing OER to replace costly commercial textbooks. While the preference is for adopting existing OER, the Committee will consider other OER Grants of up to $3000 for:
- faculty who want to build OER from existing open materials
- faculty who want to create new OER
- faculty who want to pursue professional development activities that will lead to the adoption of OER
The SUNY Broome Learning Resources Center is available to offer support with regard to creating, finding and adapting materials, course redesign, assessment, and accessibility review.
Grant recipients will be expected to become contributing members of a community of practice surrounding the use of OERs at SUNY Broome.
Eligibility for OER Adoption Awards and Grants
Full and part time faculty who have the approval of their departments are eligible to apply for an award through the SUNY OER Initiative for adopting Open Educational Resources (OER) in place of traditional commercial textbooks. They may also submit grant proposals for other activities which will lead to the replacement of costly commercial textbooks with OER.
Obligations for Instructors
- Follow college and SUNY guidelines and definitions of OER
- Meet with OER program lead to ensure course is in compliance with SUNY guidelines and definitions
- Have department chair approval
- Have course listed as OER in Banner
- Continue to use OER for three years
Resources for Instructors
The following personnel and resources are available to support faculty in the discovery, selection and use of OER
- SUNY Broome OER Initiative project lead
- SUNY Broome Learning Resource Center services
- Workshop/training provided by OER project lead and TRC
- Various web resources associated with the initiative
OER Adoption Award criteria
- Meet obligations for instructors
- Is it a high-enrollment general education course?
- Is it a course that enrolls multiple sections?
- Is there a cost for supplemental materials, and if so, what is it?
- What is the cost of the materials being replaced?
The financial benefit to the student body is a major concern, so the Committee will be looking at the number of students being reached and the amount of money being saved by adopting OER. Cost of supplemental materials, such as workbooks or access codes, will be considered. Ideally there should be no additional cost, but costs of up to $40 may be accepted. Higher supplemental costs may be considered depending on the cost savings that the OER represent. Course fees, such as tech fees or lab fees, or costs of tools or art supplies will not be considered in cost and savings calculations.
SUNY’s focus is on high enrollment general education courses, so these will be given priority consideration in making awards. Other courses will be considered, particularly if they enroll multiple sections of students. Courses that are not offered regularly or typically have low enrollment are not likely to be considered.
The amount of the OER Adoption Award is expected to be $500, but may be reduced at the discretion of the Committee or the OER Program Lead based on the availability of funds.
The funds are limited and will run out. Awards will not be given after the funding runs out.
OER Grant Process
Faculty who are adopting existing OER to replace commercial textbooks should use the OER Award Agreement to apply for an OER Adoption Award.
Faculty seeking support for activities such as building or creating OER, or other activities leading to the adoption and promotion of OER on campus, should use the OER Grant Application.
Share completed applications with Paul Bond, bondph@sunybroome.edu, who will share them with the OER Steering Committee.
Considerations for the OER Committee
When making decisions concerning the allocation of funds, the OER Steering Committee takes numerous factors into consideration, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Is the course a high enrollment General Education course?
- Are other sections of the course using or adopting OER?
- Potential student savings, based on the cost of course materials being replaced and the typical number of students enrolled in the course per semester
- Potential to influence further adoptions of OER on campus
The OER Committee may choose to use the following strategies when allocating limited funds:
- Reduce the award amount
- Fund selected initiatives based on the above and other considerations. This implies that not all initiatives may be funded.
The funds for OER grants are limited and will run out. Grant applications will not be accepted after the funds have been exhausted.