UMFK OER Grant Program

UMFK OER Grants

The UMFK OER Committee wants to incentivize instructors to abandon costly course materials in favor of those available to their students for free. In order to do this, we are offering a limited number of grants to adopt or adapt/modify existing open-access materials. These materials would replace any items in the course, e.g. textbooks, for which students must currently pay. See "Eligibility & Timeline" for more information on application requirements.

Open Educational Resources (OER)

Open Educational Resources are any type of educational materials that are in the public domain or are released under the terms of an open license. The nature of these open materials is such that anyone can legally and freely copy, use, adapt, and re-share them. OER range from textbooks to curricula, syllabi, lecture notes, assignments, tests, projects, audio, video, and animation. (UNESCO)

Grant award categories:

$500 - to adopt an open source textbook and/or other materials 

$1,000 - to adapt/modify open-source resources 

To understand what Adopt and Adapt mean for the purposes of this grant, see Frequently Asked Questions

In Practice

What does it mean to receive a UMFK OER Grant? 

For students it means,

• Having access to their required course materials on or before the first day of class without paying a dime
• Retaining access to that material perpetually
• Removing a barrier to educational materials 
• Provides equity

For instructors it means,

• Using an open text that they like and tailoring it to their specific needs if necessary (Yes, this is legally permissible and technically possible)
• Publishing on the open, uninhibited, web continues a cycle of reciprocity and iterative improvement
• Opportunity for scholarship that could then help toward promotion & tenure
• Possibly higher student enrollment and retention in courses.

Guide updated: March 22, 2022