The University of Massachusetts Amherst
Libraries Ask Us

UMass Libraries Open Education Initiative

Open Education Initiative logo

OPEN EDUCATION INITIATIVE

In collaboration with The Office of the Provost, the University Libraries are launching the 2022 Open Education Initiative (OEI) Grant Award Cycle. The grants provide funding for instructors to  adopt, adapt, or create Open Educational Resources (OER). OER are teaching materials released with an open license, which allows for their free revision and redistribution with attribution to the creator of the original work.

The initiative aims to: 

  • Encourage the development of alternatives to high-cost textbooks by supporting the adoption, adaptation, or creation of OER.
  • Provide support to faculty to implement these approaches. 
  • Lower the cost of college for students in order to contribute to their retention, progression, and graduation.

  • Encourage faculty to engage in new pedagogical models for classroom instruction.

Priority Categories

Priority funding will be given to projects that impact large numbers of students in a General Education course.

Expectations

Below is a list of expectations for award recipients. Please read carefully before applying. 

  • Write a final grant report that includes a narrative summarizing the challenges and accomplishments of your experience creating/finding/using the materials, the impact on your teaching, the impact on students and their performance, and lessons learned. 
  • Agree to share the results of your project with other faculty in your Department and the campus via meetings, workshops, or promotional materials. 
  • Circulate a qualitative and quantitative survey to all of your students at the end of the first semester you utilize the materials. 
  • Provide a copy of the revised syllabus or course outline used for the class. 
  • Participate in long-range assessments of the Open Education Initiative.
  • Materials developed for a course will be licensed with an appropriate Creative Commons license of the grantee’s choice. 
  • Agree to potentially participate on the review committee for future applications. 

Selection Criteria

Proposals will be reviewed by representatives from the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), the Instructional Design, Engagement, and Support (IDEAS) group, the Libraries, and one or more faculty members who have previously received the grant. Proposals will be reviewed on the following rubrics: 

  • Transformative impact on student savings.
  • Organization, planning, feasibility. 
  • Qualitative and quantitative measures. 
  • Accessibility
  • Clarity and alignment.  

For a detailed view of the OEI Proposal Evaluation Rubric, click here. 

Timeline

  • NEW DEADLINE! Proposals are due by Sunday, April 17, 2022.
  • Email notification of successful proposals will be sent by Monday, May 2, 2022.

Support

Please submit any questions or requests for pre-submission consultant to Open Education Librarian Theresa Dooley at tdooley@umass.edu. We are able to answer questions, discuss open licensing and copyright, and outline technological, pedagogical, and research support. 

For more information on OER, including a list of previous award winners, visit our OER LibGuide.

For a sample OER Accessibility Evaluation rubric from Affordable Learning Georgia, click here. 

Application

 Please apply through the OEI Proposal Submission Form.