OER Seed Grants

About

OER Seed Grants support the goals of UNL’s Successful Teaching with Affordable Resources (STAR) initiative by providing funding and consultation for UNL instructors seeking to adapt or create Open Educational Resources (OER) as an alternative to traditional textbooks and (other traditionally-) licensed course materials. The grant committee, which includes partners from the Center for Transformative Teaching, University Libraries, and Information Technology Services, facilitates these efforts by selecting instructor-proposed projects and leveraging campus expertise in pedagogy, instructional design, accessibility, copyright, and publishing. 

Questions? STAR@unl.edu

Award Levels

Individuals, teams, and departments may apply for up to $15,000 to implement OER in courses and programs. Grants are awarded at three levels:

Level 1: Adapt, update, or combine existing OER. ($2,000)

Level 2: Author or create an original OER. ($5,000)

Level 3: Multi-section courses and program conversions. (Up to $15,000)

(For individuals interested in adopting OER, with minimal or no changes, or integrating other no-cost materials, see the UNL Libraries course materials review consultation and grant program.)

Eligibility

OER Seed Grants support courses for which the impact of adapting or creating OER will significantly reduce student course material costs, reduce course equity gaps, or improve rates of student engagement and success by making course materials more relevant and accessible. These include courses with high-enrollment and/or currently high costs for textbooks or other learning materials. UNL instructors, course/program coordinators, or similar administrators responsible for delivery of credit-bearing courses are eligible to apply.  

High-impact projects, e.g. for large-enrollment courses, multi-section courses, program conversions, courses with high-cost textbooks or equity gaps, and/or courses that will co-create OER with students, will be prioritized for funding. Multiple instructors may apply for multi-sectional, cross-course usage, and program conversion projects.

Requirements

Projects, which are instructor-led, are intended to result in use, adaptation, and/or creation of OER, including textbook alternatives, assessment tools, or ancillary materials, expanding instructors' options from a pedagogical and course design perspective while decreasing cost for students. Faculty participating in this grant will be expected to assess the impact of the project after completion and gather some common basic data.  

All instructors and graduate students collaborating on Seed Grant-funded projects agree to meet the requirements stated below: 

• Attend a Kick-Off meeting, date TBA. (To be scheduled Spring 2025 based on availability of grantees; 1st fund distribution will be awarded after a signed Letter of Agreement is received by the Seed Grant Team.)
• Participate in project-related professional development related to OER adapting and authoring. 
• Attend a mid-point check-in meeting with fellow grantees and the Seed Grant Team, date TBA.
• Faculty participating in this grant will be expected to assess the impact of the project after completion and gather some common basic data (e.g. DFW rates, demographic data, performance demographics, from the UNL course demographics suite).
• Submit final report after first semester of implementation, including assessment of impact, final expenditures, and a personal narrative on the project's successes, challenges, and next steps. 
• Attend a debrief meeting with the Seed Grant Team – Individually scheduled after the submission of the final report. 2nd distribution of grant monies will not occur until debrief with the Seed Grant Team has been completed. 
• Adopted, adapted, or authored content must meet Accessibility standards. 
• Application of an OER-compatible Creative Commons license to the final product adapted/authored OER).
• Submit final (adapted/authored) OER for inclusion in UNL’s DigitalCommons.

How to Apply

An online application will be available soon in NuRamp. Stay tuned!

Support

A long-term goal of the OER Seed Grant program is to cultivate and support the development of a network of instructors who implement, develop, and adapt OER in support of student learning, and to encourage broad sharing of OER at UNL and beyond.

Grantees benefit from community and networking with other instructors implementing OER and open education practices in addition to support from experts in the Center for Transformative Teaching, University Libraries, and Information Technology Services. Information and consultation on topics such as finding existing OER, pedagogy, instructional design, accessibility, copyright, and publishing, is offered by members of the Seed Grant team.

Evaluation Criteria

Student Success Impacts:

• Potential cost savings: The proposal includes information on current material costs, usual or expected student enrollment, and the frequency of the course offering
• Pedagogical Impact: The proposal articulates how the OER will make a pedagogical impact supporting student success in the course and/or how it will fill a disciplinary gap in open content.

Objectives: The proposal’s objectives are clearly articulated. The project rationale is clear, and the applicants have reflected on the work necessary to make it a success.
Feasibility: The proposal’s timeline is feasible and aligns with the work required to complete the project in a timely manner. Priority will be given to projects expected to be used in a course by the 2026-2027 academic year.