Faculty support leads to OER adoption and opportunities for significant student savings
OhioLINK has awarded funding to 30 faculty from Ohio colleges in its Open Educational Resources (OER) Course Redesign Grants. Since March 2022, 146 grants have been awarded to instructors from across the state. The grants help instructors learn about teaching with Open Educational Resources (OER), which could save students more than $1 million each year.
“OhioLINK Affordable Learning discovered that this targeted support is effective in helping faculty transition away from higher-cost commercial textbooks,” said OhioLINK Executive Director Amy Pawlowski. “If the faculty grantees convert their course to OER, Ohio students could save more than $1.5 million in a single academic year.”
The award compensates faculty for participation in a four-week online training course about OER and provides a consultation with an OER-specialist librarian to help them identify open resource alternatives to commercial texts in their syllabus. Instructors would be able to use open- and/or library-licensed resources as early as fall semester 2024.
Congratulations to the following faculty who will receive funding to explore using open and adaptable teaching materials across a wide range of curriculum:
• Lauren Copeland, Baldwin Wallace University
• Sherri Horner, Bowling Green State University
• Kalesha Scott, Central State University
• Sandi Sumerfield, Central State University
• Peggy Rolfsen, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
• Karen Groh, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
• Carla Rhoades, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
• Alfredo Zuniga, College of Wooster
• Loleta Collins, Edison State Community College
• Karen Korn, Edison State Community College
• Molly Sergi, Kent State University - Geauga
• Jewon Woo, Lorain County Community College
• Caryn Neumann, Miami University - Middletown
• David Karsner, Mount Saint Joseph University
• Morgan Free, Muskingum University
• Ana Kehrberg, Muskingum University
• Richard Arnold, Muskingum University
• Chelsie Ebaugh, Northwest State Community College
• Anthony DeGenaro, Ohio Dominican University
• Denise Grupp-Verbon, Owens Community College
• Jacqueline Martz, Rhodes State College
• Kelly Stacy, University of Cincinnati
• Nicole Johnson, University of Mount Union
• Michael Callahan, University of Northwestern Ohio
• Kylie Evans, Ursuline College
• Layla Besson, Wittenberg University
• Basil Naah, Wright State University
• Megan Nieto, Xavier University
• Sheena Steckl, Xavier University
• Ashley Varol, Xavier University
Faculty grantees indicated that the OER-specialist librarian’s review of their syllabus was invaluable in helping them make the switch to OER. In an effort to expand this kind of faculty support, OhioLINK offered scholarships to a 7-month Open Education Network program for certification in open education librarianship. Ten new OhioLINK librarians will receive certification in September 2024.
Learn more by visiting OhioLINK’s Affordable Learning Ohio Initiative.
About OhioLINK Established in 1992, the Ohio Library and Information Network (OhioLINK) is Ohio’s statewide academic library consortium. OhioLINK provides shared print and digital resources that support research, teaching, and learning through 117 libraries at 88 institutions of higher education and the State Library of Ohio. In addition, OhioLINK manages collaborative efforts aimed at reducing the cost of higher education for students. OhioLINK is a member of the Ohio Technology Consortium (OH-TECH) within the Ohio Department of Higher Education. Learn more at OhioLINK.edu.
