Apply for grants to adopt or create OER and textbooks
The University Libraries will award faculty and instructors up to two $3,500 grants to create an original, openly licensed textbook and up to ten $1,000 grants to adopt an exsiting OER for spring, summer or fall 2026 courses. Grant applications are due on Nov. 21, 2025.
Open educational resources (OER) are free, openly licensed materials you can use, adapt and share in your teaching. They range from images and videos to textbooks, lab activities, and even full course curricula.
Why choose OER
- Affordable: Free, high-quality resources so students don’t have to skip buying books—or classes.
- Equitable: Everyone gets access on day one. No delays or barriers.
- Sustainable: Easy to update, no printing or shipping waste, instant access.
With OER, you can:
- Support student success.
- Customize course content.
- Ensure quality control.
- Showcase innovation.
- Strengthen your tenure and promotion portfolio
Why create OER
Creating OER helps your students—and students everywhere. It’s a lasting contribution that also highlights your expertise and builds your professional profile.
Open Books Collection
5Rs of OER
Open content is licensed in a way that grants users the permission to:
Retain
Users have the right to make, archive and own copies of the content.
Reuse
Content can be reused in its unaltered form.
Revise
Content can be adapted, adjusted, modified and altered.
Remix
Content can be combined with other content to create something new.
Redistribute
Content can be shared in its original, revised or remixed form.
Many students cannot afford to or will not spend the money on a textbook, next semester I may not even invest in some and will wait until the semester starts to look into them. Having a free textbook is amazing. It allows every student to have the resource to thrive in the class. Very helpful and much needed for more courses.
I liked that all students had access to the readings and text as compared to other courses where there are always some students who struggle in buying the textbooks. Many times these students never buy textbook or buy late in the semester leading to loss of learning.
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