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The , led by the ���̸�����’s William E. Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation, is seeking proposals for its 2018 High-impact OER Mini-Grant program to strategically support Maryland public institutions’ efforts to adopt Open Educational Resources (OERs) as a means to greatly reduce textbook costs and address college affordability for students.  Building on the prior success of the M.O.S.T. initiative and the , this funding program will target OER adoption in “high impact,” high enrollment courses for which high-quality OER already exists.  In addition to supporting adoption of OER by individual faculty, the program will also support the scaling of OER adoption within institutions across multiple course sections.

Two types of mini-grants will be awarded: 1) Adopt/Adapt OER ($500 - $1,500) and 2) Scaling OER ($1,500 - $2,500).  Grants will be distributed by the end of FY17-18 for Spring 2018 project planning and development and Fall 2018 OER implementation.  Proposals must be received by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, February 2, 2018.  Please note: The Mini-Grant program is for Maryland public higher education institutions only.

 to learn more about the program and the application process.

To apply for a mini-grant, review the planning document, download the application form in PDF or DOC, and email completed proposals to cai@usmd.edu.

ADOPT/ADAPT OER MINI-GRANTS ($500 - $1500)

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the Adopt/Adapt OER mini-grant program, proposed projects must:

• Replace traditional textbooks with OER as a means to reduce students’ costs and make education more affordable.  After the project, total course materials costs cannot exceed $40, with lower costs preferred.
• Replace traditional textbooks with accessible and openly licensed instructional materials.
• Target OER adoption in a high enrollment course for which high-quality OER content already exists and has been developed into comprehensive course materials, including supplemental materials such as test questions, presentation slides, and handouts.  To see examples of courses that qualify, refer to the High-Impact OER Mini-Grant Program Planning Document.
• Faculty applying for the Adopt/Adapt mini-grant must commit to teaching at least one section of the course using OER during the Fall 2018 semester. Adoption in more than one section is encouraged.

In addition, we will be looking for the following in Adopt/Adapt OER mini-grant proposals (preferred but not required):

• The potential to scale use of OER to most or all course sections over time.
• A general plan to sustain adoption over time.
• Some prior experience with OER.
• Institutional and/or departmental support to participate.

SCALING OER MINI-GRANTS ($1,500 - $2,500)

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the Scaling OER mini-grant program, proposed projects must:

• Be led by someone with experience teaching with OER.
• Describe projects aimed at scaling the use of OER across multiple sections of a high enrollment course for which high-quality OER content already exists and has been developed into comprehensive course materials, including supplemental materials such as test questions, presentation slides, and handouts.  To see examples of courses that qualify, refer to the High-Impact OER Mini-Grant Program Planning Document.
• Commit to scaling the use of OER to at least four sections of a “high impact” course during the Fall 2018 semester.  
• Reduce students’ cost of course materials to $40 or less.
• Replace traditional textbooks with accessible and openly licensed instructional materials.

In addition, we will be looking for the following in Scaling OER Adoption mini-grant proposals (preferred but not required):

• Includes institutional and/or departmental support to participate.
• Collaboration that involves multiple instructors, instructional designers, librarians, and support staff.
• A general plan to sustain adoption over time.

Eligible courses for the mini-grant program include, but are not limited to:

To submit your proposal, please review the 2018 High-impact OER planning document, complete the proposal application (download in PDF or DOC format) and submit your proposal by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, February 2, 2018 to cai@usmd.edu.  Selected grantees will be notified on February 16, 2018.