Open Education fund
The Open Education fund provides funding to support the creation of open educational resource (OER) projects and open pedagogy projects. The amount of funding you can receive will depend on the type of project and the number of USask students who will directly benefit from the project each year.
What can be supported through this fund?
The fund can be used to support:
- The creation or adaptation of open textbooks to be used in place of commercial learning materials,
- creation or adaptation of ancillary resources needed to facilitate the use of OER in place of commercial learning materials,
- open pedagogy projects that will lead to the creation or adaptation of openly licensed materials,
- payment to sessional instructors for their work related to the project,
- payment to graduate or undergraduate students not currently receiving credit for their work on these projects.
This fund cannot be used to support:
- payment to faculty members,
- payment to students receiving credit for their work on the project,
- payment to a publisher for the work to be published open access,
- payment for works that will be published for profit (either by the author or publisher),
- work that will not carry an open license.
- A clear indication of how many USask students will benefit from the project.
- What commercial materials, if any, will be replaced.
- A detailed action plan with timelines, deliverables, and resource needs (financial, expertise, in-kind, other).
- A detailed budget with appropriate expenses related to the intent of the fund
| Projects that involve creating or significantly adapting an open textbook may receive up to $10,000. |
| Projects that involve creating or significantly adapting an ancillary resource that enables the adoption of an open textbook or otherwise removes the cost of a textbook for students may receive up to $5,000. |
| Projects that do not involve the creation or adaptation by students of an open textbook or otherwise remove the cost of a textbook for students may receive up to $3,500. |
| Projects that do involve the creation or adaptation by students of an open textbook or otherwise remove the cost of a textbook for students may receive up to $7,000. |
Applications must involve specific support of the GMCTL team as part of the application process and action plan.
1. Contact the GMCTL to discuss if the project fits this funding. Applicants will be assigned an educational development specialist to support the application process. Anticipate questions such as:
- Is this an OER or open pedagogy project?
- What course(s) will the materials be used in, or the project be part of?
- How many students will benefit from this work per year?
- Is this part of a course or courses you are working with a member of the Flexible Learning Team already?
- Is this part of a larger program change?
2. Work directly with the GMCTL educational development specialist to craft an application that includes an action plan and budget.
3. Seek written support from the Department Head, Dean, and/or Associate Dean Academic and include it with your application.
4. Submit application and letters of support to gmctl@usask.ca. Applications may be submitted at any time.
Selection process
Applications requesting $5,000 or less are reviewed by the appropriate manager or team lead from the GMCTL. Applications requesting more than $5,000 will be reviewed by the Director of the GMCTL.
Successful applicants will be notified by email. Funding transfer details and reporting requirements will be included in that notification.
Get support
For support or a consultation on this topic, reach out to the team at the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning.