Open Educational Resources Grant Program

The University of New Mexico Open Educational Resources Grant Program is a university-sponsored professional development program designed to support faculty in adopting, adapting, and creating open educational resources for use in UNM courses. The program recognizes that developing and authoring OER materials requires substantial effort and collaboration and supports participating creators through funding, editorial and licensing guidance, technical design assistance, and other forms of support. Its broader goals are to encourage alternatives to high-cost textbooks, provide faculty with support for implementing OER approaches, lower college costs for students in ways that contribute to retention, progression, and graduation, encourage new pedagogical models, and develop a Community of Practice around OER integration. The program supports three general types of projects: Adopt, Adapt, and Create. Adoption projects use existing open course materials that can be integrated into a UNM course without significant revisions or additions, although supplementary or ancillary materials may be acquired, compiled, or composed as needed. Adaptation projects blend existing OER content when available materials do not fully meet a course's needs and may involve editing, original writing, and development or compilation of supplementary materials. Creation projects are appropriate when existing materials cannot readily be adapted or integrated and may involve adapting, combining, synthesizing, or compiling multiple sources, creating supplemental materials, and contributing significant original writing to contextualize and connect source materials. Faculty interested in the program are asked to read the OER Grant Program LibGuide and may consult with their subject librarian, an advisor through the Center for Teaching and Learning, and/or the OER Librarian while developing a proposal. Applicants should propose a realistic, well-planned, and innovative project with a clearly outlined rationale and desired outcomes. Proposals may be submitted by an individual, a team, or a department. The application form is accessible only to UNM employees and is available during the summer and early fall of each year. Applicants are encouraged to consider meeting with the OER Librarian for a consultation and to obtain details about informational sessions before submitting documents. A proposal must compile a cover page, letter of support, project overview, budget, and timeline into one PDF. The supplied material also provides an example budget and examples of previously funded OER projects in Art History and Latin American Studies from Fall 2023. No specific award ceiling, award floor, total program funding, number of awards, cost-sharing requirement, or matching contribution is stated in the supplied source material. Applicants therefore should rely on the official proposal guidelines and program materials for any additional financial requirements that are not included in the provided information. For the current cycle, proposals should be submitted by October 1. The OER Grant Selection Committee will review proposals and contact awardees by November 15. The application is described as being available during summer and early fall each year, establishing an annual recurring application cycle. Three online informational sessions are listed for August 26, September 10, and September 23, 2026. These sessions are opportunities for interested faculty to learn about OER and the UNM program, with the final session conducted in a question-and-answer format; they are not identified as mandatory pre-application gates. The program also offers an ongoing Community of Practice for OER participants, with meetings held Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Attendance is optional and flexible. Participants can discuss project progress, challenges, concerns, ideas, and questions with the community. The OER Librarian and other OER support team members provide workshops, consultations, online resources, brainstorming assistance, and proposal-development guidance. The supplied material does not provide a program contact email address or telephone number, and it does not identify a required performance period or project completion date.

Propose a realistic, well-planned, and innovative project with clearly outlined rationale and desired outcomes; consult with the subject librarian, Center for Teaching and Learning, and/or OER Librarian during proposal development