Developing Incentives (Dig Deeper)
It took trial and error for the OEN to determine that $200 was the right amount to incentivize writing a review of a textbook in the Open Textbook Library. Similarly, while monetary incentives for the adoption of OER are likely the most common, the amount varies widely.
Places to Seek Funding for Monetary Incentives
- One-time funds (Dean, Provost)
- Partners (Library, Center for Teaching and Learning, Online Learning Office, etc.)
- Grants
- Student government associations
- Library friends
- Innovation fund
Financial Argument for Funding OER
If we use the OEN's model of a $200 stipend paid for faculty reviewing a textbook in the Open Textbook Library, we see that if we pay faculty 20 faculty $200, and 45% of them adopt an open textbook, those faculty save each student, on average, $100 for a Return on Investment of $27,000.
Incentives Other than Money
For various reasons, financial incentives aren't always possible. Here are some other ideas for incentives:
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Food
- appetizers, chocolate fountains, coffee bars, desserts, etc.
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Letter for faculty members’ dossiers
- At times, this could be even more compelling for tenure-track faculty
- Gift certificate to campus café, bookstore, cafeteria
- Gift certificate for library fines
- Instructional design support
- Release time
- Swag (tshirts, sweatshirts, thumb drives, etc.)
Out of ideas? Talk to a faculty member you know and trust; what would incentivize him or her? Listening to what matters to your faculty member might help you build an ally.
You know what would work best on your campus.