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Open Educational Resources (OERs) and other Affordable Alternatives to Standard Textbooks
Open Educational Resources (OERs) and other Affordable Alternatives to Standard Textbooks
As Students First continues to be priority one for Kent State University, it is important to note that affordable course materials, including Open Educational Resources (OERs), have been demonstrated to lower the cost of higher education for students and may improve learner outcomes through increased access.1, 2
In partnership with University Libraries and the Center for Teaching and Learning, the Provost’s Office announces a grant program to support our faculty in making use of alternatives to standard textbooks. These grants are similar to the recent OhioLINK Course Redesign Grants, which were awarded to nine Kent State faculty, as well as to grant programs offered at universities across the country. Grant categories to be offered at Kent State are indicated below:
| Category | Description | Funding Amount |
|---|---|---|
|
1. Mini-Grant |
Use course reserves/licensed library materials/Flash books |
$250 |
|
2. Grant |
Indentify and adopt or adapt OER materials |
$1000 |
|
3. Super-grant |
Develop new OER course materials with authorship |
$100-Mini-grant |
|
4. Mentorship grant |
Share experience with affordable course materials by mentoring a faculty member who has recieved one of the above grants |
$100- Mini-grant $250- Grant $500- Super-grant |
Kent State’s OhioLINK grant awardees have shared their feedback:
- Eve McPherson: “If an OER license allows for it, I can modify the OER. I honestly did not realize this. It definitely opens up some possibilities for me.”
- Molly Sergi: “This course helped me locate and incorporate new ideas into my class syllabus. I think any chance to locate and use new sources is a tremendous benefit. In addition, the sources certainly support students because there is no cost.”
- Pam Lieske: “Having a librarian [to assist with identifying OER materials] was quite helpful.”
A Call for Proposals with more information will be sent out later in May 2022. In the meantime, contact Cindy Kristof (ckristof [at] kent.edu) or Molly Wang (zwang3 [at] kent.edu) with your questions.
1. Hilton, J. Open educational resources and college textbook choices: a review of research on efficacy and perceptions. Education Tech Research Dev 64, 573–590 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-016-9434-9
2. B. T. M. Wong and K. C. Li, "Using Open Educational Resources for Teaching in Higher Education: A Review of Case Studies," 2019 International Symposium on Educational Technology (ISET), 2019, pp. 186-190, doi: 10.1109/ISET.2019.00046.