OER Grant Program @ UNM

APPLY HERE

The application form for this program will be accessible only to UNM employees. 

Before you submit your documents, consider meeting with the OER Librarian for a consultation or attend an informational session. 

You can also receive program updates by sharing your email address and joining our mailing list. We'll keep you informed of OER initiatives and events at UNM!

Funding Opportunities and Eligibility

Proposals are eligible from UNM employees who hold the rank of Part-Time  Faculty, Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Associate Processor, or Professor. Proposals from Graduate Students or Graduate Assistants are also eligible. Research Faculty and Faculty of any rank on leave without pay or on a visiting appointment are NOT eligible.

Faculty may submit one OER Grant proposal in any funding cycle. Final reports from previous OER Grants must be submitted prior to submission of a new proposal.  

There will be two types of proposals: (a) Small Grant with budgets under $2,000 and (b) Large Grant with budgets between $2,000 and $10,000. Levels of funding and project timelines should be determined by the scope of work necessary to successfully integrate the material(s) into a course. 

Funding Cycles and Submissions 

• Application Due Date: October 1st   

Project Completion Funding Cycle: 18 months from the award notice date.  

Award Management, Sharing, and Reporting 

Awards will be disbursed either through a Non-Standard Payment Form or Departmental Award. The award recipient is fully responsible for management of grant funds. Outstanding expenses will be the responsibility of the recipient of the award. Awardees should plan to submit progress reports at the end of each semester to the OER Librarian.  

At the completion of the funding (18 months after award), each OER grant funding recipient MUST submit a brief summary report describing work completed. The reports should clearly indicate: (1) how the funds were used, (2) the number of students impacted or projected to be impacted by the project, (3) the results of the project assessment outlined in the proposal, and (4) a summary of any resulting presentations or publications. A report template will be provided to all award recipients. To be eligible for funding on a future proposal, recipients must have filed a final report for all previous OER grants. Content created through an OER grant must be shared with UNM instructors and follow Creative Commons Open Online Access requirements as part of the final reporting procedure. 

It is the responsibility of the awardee to ensure the eligibility of materials selected for inclusion in any OER being used for students or distributed to the UNM community. 

Any budget modification that alters the scope of the work must be submitted in writing to the OER Grant Selection Committee for approval prior to any expenditure of funds. 

Funding Priorities and Eligible Project Categories 

1. Large Grants ($2,000 – $10,000) 

Creation or adaptation of OERs for General Education courses, high-enrollment courses (>75), or courses with a fail rate above 40% in one or more previous semesters. The selection committee anticipates that these grants will require a team of instructors (which may include graduate students or advanced undergraduates) to create, revise, and curate materials.  

2. Small Grants ($500 – $2,000)  

Adoption or adaptation of OER materials for any course. The selection committee anticipates these grants will fund a single instructor to revise and curate materials. 

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

• Throughout the process, update the program administrators about your progress either through periodic check-ins (virtual, email, or one-on-one) or engage with the OER Community of Practice that will meet several times a year.
• 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.
• On materials developed for a UNM course, apply an appropriate Creative Commons license of the grantee’s choice.
• Agree to potentially participate on the review committee for future applications. 

UNM has developed it's own Faculty Guide to support your learning about OER, where you will find information about Adopting, Adapting, & Creating OER Materials

OER Grant Program @ UNM by Jennifer Jordan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.