USM Announces MOST Initiative High-impact OER Mini-Grants

Thu, 09 Feb 2017 09:40:29 -0500
academic-innovation, cfp, oer, open-educational-resources, usm

The William E. Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation is pleased to announce the High-impact OER Mini-Grant Program, a new funding program designed to strategically support Maryland public institutions’ efforts to adopt and scale Open Educational Resource (OER) adoption. Building upon the prior success of the MOST initiative, this new program will support individual faculty adoption of OER and OER scaling initiatives within institutions in “high-impact,” high enrollment courses for which high-quality OER already exists.

Two types of mini-grants will be awarded:

Adopt/Adapt OER ($500 - $1,500)

Scaling OER ($1,500 - $2,500)

In addition to grant funding for their OER adoption or scaling project, selected grantees will also receive training and technical support in Spring 2017 to assist in the implementation of their OER plans.

Eligibility requirements include:

Adopt/Adapt OER Mini-Grants ($500 - $1,500)

Faculty commitment to teach at least one section of a “high-impact” course using OER during the Fall 2017 semester. Adoption in more than one section is encouraged.

Targeting OER adoption in an eligible high enrollment course with existing high-quality OER content.

Reducing students’ course materials costs to $40 or less

Scaling OER Mini-Grants ($1,500 - $2,500)

Scaling of OER to at least four sections of a “high impact” course during the Fall 2017 semester to reduce students’ cost of course materials to $40 or less.

Targeting OER adoption in an eligible high enrollment course with existing high-quality OER content.

Institutional and/or departmental support and collaboration with multiple instructors, instructional designers, librarians, and support staff preferred.

Informational webinars will be conducted February 13 - 22, 2017, to provide more details about the program and the application process.

To apply for a mini-grant, applicants must complete a High-impact OER Mini-Grant Program Application and submit it to cai@usmd.edu by 5 PM on Wednesday, March 8, 2017. The Mini-Grant Planning Document and the application, which provides additional information and details about the program, is attached to this announcement. Faculty may indicate their intent to apply or register for an informational webinar on the Center's website.

Questions about the High-impact OER Mini-Grant Program may be directed to Dr. M.J. Bishop, Director of the Center for Academic Innovation, via cai@usmd.edu.