OER Grant Opportunities & Purpose
West Virginia’s Higher Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC) and the West Virginia Community and Technical College System (WVCTCS) are proud to present a grant opportunity to support faculty who are seeking to create or adopt OER for use in a college course. Grants will be limited to one per faculty member. Each faculty member who applies will receive a certificate of commendation for their promotion and tenure portfolio, acknowledging their commitment to student success and higher education affordability.
The purpose of this grant is to provide financial and non-financial incentives to accelerate the use of OER in higher education.
Grant Benefits
To encourage OER adoption, there are many benefits to faculty and instructors. Benefits to selected grantees include:
- A grant of $1,000
- A certificate of commendation for potential inclusion in tenure and promotion portfolio
- Public, named recognition of participating faculty members in WVHEPC reports to the legislature, the institutions and the public about this project
- Opportunities for professional development around OER
- Immediate inclusion in an OER community of practice for peer-to-peer support
OER Community of Practice for Faculty
An “OER Community of Practice” was created for faculty who received these grants. The group meets monthly to discuss their OER successes and challenges and receive additional professional development opportunities.
The Fall 2022 Grant Cycle is Now Closed
Providing OER Grants – Open Learning WV Program
Open Learning WV is the program that provides faculty with the $1,000 grants to create or adopt OER in their courses. Faculty receive this grant upon implementation of OER in their course. The program is off to a great start and growing – as of June 2022, 117 faculty have converted 147 courses to OER.
OER Grant Funds
Grant funds of $1,000 will be distributed directly to your institution and released to you at the end of the semester in which OER is fully implemented.
Section Criteria
The following will be considered when selecting recipients:
Scale – How many students will be affected by the use of OER? How many sections of a course will utilize OER? How soon will OER be implemented?
Cost Savings – What is the current cost of materials for this course before implementation of OER?
Broader Impact – Has the applicant participated in OER professional development? Will the applicant actively participate in the OER Community of Practice? Is the applicant willing to share knowledge about OER and selected materials with other faculty across the state after the project concludes?
Application Process & Timeline
by completing the brief application
no later than September 19, 2022.
Recipients will be selected and notified by September 26, 2022.
Payment Process
Grant funds will be released to recipients at the end of the semester in which the recipient fully implemented the OER. Grant funds will be paid by WVHEPC to the recipient’s institution, which is responsible for and expected to complete the distribution of funds to faculty members.
Equal Opportunity
Selection of grant recipients will be done without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.