As colleges and universities across the country seek ways to make education more affordable and increase student success, a growing number of educators are adopting open educational resources (OER). OER are free teaching and learning materials that are licensed to allow for revision and reuse The cost of commercial textbooks and other resource packages, which has been rising at an unsustainable rate for decades, demands exploration of alternative publishing models. Teachers, authors, and other stakeholders have responded, resulting in a large corpus of educational materials suitable for courses at a variety of levels in nearly every discipline.
The UTA CARES Grant Program, sponsored by UTA Libraries, was established in 2017 to support educators interested in practicing open education through the adoption of OER and, when no suitable open resource is available, through the creation of new OER or the adoption of library-licensed or other free content. Additionally, the program promotes innovation in teaching and learning through the exploration of open educational practices, such as collaborating with students to produce educational content of value to a wider community.
Funding will be awarded for Scale Grants and two categories of Innovation Grants. Additionally, applications for Adoptions Stipends will be accepted and awarded on a first-come, first-served basis for eligible projects until allocated funding is depleted. All awards are competitive.
Deadlines
Scale and Innovation Grants
Proposal Deadline: January 20 Extended to February 5, 2020
Awards Announcement: Spring 2020
Adoption Stipends
Review of applications is ongoing, and funding is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis until funding is depleted.
Open Textbook Workshops
Though not required, all applicants are encouraged to attend an Open Textbook Workshop before submitting an application.
2019 Press Release - UTA Libraries Awards Five OER Grants
UTA Libraries’ $18,000 investment in these grants will result in actual cost savings of just under $80,000 for UTA students during the first year of use alone.
2018 Press Release - UTA Libraries Funds Five Educators to Lower Textbook Costs