Shared by Joe Wachter, Chemistry, Open Educational Resources (OER) Coordinator

Through the Student Success Initiatives program, there are still funds available for Open Educational Resources (OER) Transformation Grants this year!

Four types of OER grants are available to replace textbook/course material costs with OER or free/low-cost course resources:

Revise​ (revise OER materials already in use)

  • Up to $1,500 stipend per faculty member on team revising materials. This could be used for materials that were originally created or adapted with an OER grant (after 4 semesters) or materials used for courses but never supported by a grant.
  • Examples of revision projects could include: moving materials to Harper’s Pressbooks server to enhance openness and accessibility; auditing and enhancing materials for accessibility and copyright compliance; editing and customizing content for your course.

Adopt (adopt an existing OER course or textbook, as is or with modifications)

  • Up to $500 stipend per faculty member on grant team.

Adapt (combine two or more existing OER courses or textbooks, as is or with modifications)

  • Up to $1,500 stipend per faculty member on grant team adapting resources.
  • Additional team members may participate at the Adopt level.

Build (create new OER from scratch and/or a wide variety of open resources)

  • Great for writing ancillary materials, e.g. practice problems, case studies, in-class activities.
  • Up to $2,500 stipend per faculty member on grant team building resources.
  • Additional team members may participate at the Adopt level.

Grant recipients agree to:

  • Begin implementation of OER or free/low-cost content (or revised materials) by Fall 2023.
  • Update bookstore adoption list to reflect OER materials selection.
  • Adopt OER or free/low-cost content for a minimum of three consecutive semesters.
  • Review the digital Harper College OER Training resource.
  • Consult with an instructional designer to develop a plan for digital accessibility of resources, copyright compliance, and content hosting.
  • Submit a Faculty OER Survey (completion report) at the end of the first semester of implementation.

Contact oer@harpercollege.edu with any questions and to view and submit a grant proposal form.