Quick links:
- Purpose
- Goals of the grant program
- Eligibility requirements
- Requirements and expectations for projects
- Types of projects to be considered
- Applying for the RCL Open Education Grant
- Application Supports
Purpose
Over the past year, instructors have shown increased interest in replacing expensive course materials—such as textbooks and other course readings—with Open Educational Resources (OER) that are free to use, remix, and revise. Because the River Campus Libraries (RCL) understands the time and effort required to implement open educational practices, we are piloting the RCL Open Education Grant Program for the upcoming academic year. Grant awardees will receive funding and benefit from library support to aid the adaptation, creation, and publication of their work.
Goals of the grant program
- Create a more accessible and equitable learning environment for students
- Support instructors in creating openly-licensed course materials
- Empower students as co-creators of course materials through open pedagogy practices
- Ensure that the University of Rochester is an active contributor to open initiatives across higher education
- Celebrate instructors who have adopted OER into their courses
Eligibility requirements
- Applicants must be applying for a grant related to a credit-bearing course they are teaching or to a program that supports impactful learning on the River Campus within the next two academic years. This includes, but is not limited to, faculty, adjunct instructors, staff, and graduate students.
Requirements and expectations for projects
- Selected grantees will be required to:
- Meet with librarian(s) for an OER consultation
- Submit an implementation plan along with a memorandum of understanding
- Publish any new or derivative OER under a Creative Commons license (CC-BY or equivalent) in University of Rochester Research and one additional OER repository; ensuring that materials meet relevant accessibility standards and are easily edited.
- Participate in at least one speaking engagement or interview to share their experience of creating an open resource with the University of Rochester community. There will be opportunities organized by RCL in which awardees will be invited to participate; however, awardees are not limited to RCL-sponsored engagements.
- Track 1 & 2 projects are expected to be implemented within a year, while Track 3 & 4 projects are expected to be implemented within 1-2 years.
- Timeline for payments: Payments of grant funding will be split.
- The first half will be paid out after signing the Memorandum of Understanding
- The second half will be paid upon submission of the final report
Types of projects to be considered
Grant tracks |
Estimated Funding |
Possible activities, time, and spending involved |
Track 1: Re-licensing existing material to be made OER |
Up to $200 |
- Investigating the options for Creative Commons licenses |
Track 2: Creating videos, modules, and/or adapting an existing OER textbook |
Up to $800 |
- Activities from Track 1 |
Track 3: Re-designing a course to include open pedagogy practices
|
Up to $1500 |
- Activities from Track 1 |
Track 4: Publishing a textbook |
Up to $4,000 |
- Activities from Track 1 |
Applying for the RCL Open Education Grant
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, beginning June 25, 2021 and will continue to be reviewed until funds are exhausted. A total of $10,000 is available for this program pilot.
- Submit Application
- Download a template for the grant narrative
- View the grant rubric
The rubric should be used as a guideline for how applications will be reviewed and the type of information that will be considered by the award committee.
Application Supports
- OER and Open Pedagogy workshop recordings
- Understanding Creative Commons licenses
- Suggested OER repositories
Questions regarding this grant can be directed to RCLOpenEdGrant@library.rochester.edu