August: Identifying Faculty Champions & Funding an Award Program

*Note: Please explore these resources prior to your August cohort meeting. While they are not required, they have been designed to assist you in getting the most out of this Certificate program, so we strongly recommend participating. Some of the videos may have been created during a previous cohort, so please disregard references to particular dates. 

This video by former instructor Will Cross introduces the Faculty Champion exercise, provides an overview and examples of faculty champions, and guides viewers through the Faculty Champions worksheet. The video points to the Certificate Handouts folder, but you can find the Finding Your Faculty Champions worksheet here Links to an external site.. Please make a copy for yourself.

Will's second video introduces the OER Crush exercise, provides an overview and examples of an “OER crush,” and guides viewers through the OER Crush worksheet. The video points to the Certificate Handouts folder, but you can find the OER Crush worksheet here Links to an external site..

Other Examples of Faculty Champion Initiatives:

OER Award/Grant Programs1

Instructor Lily Todorinova shares some best practices for starting (or maintaining) and OER Award program in the following section:

Why Administer an Award Program?

Award programs are a great way to incentivize the adoption of Open Educational Resources OER) on your campus. You may want to consider starting an award program if your OER initiatives are relatively new and could benefit from greater publicity and interest. Award
programs, especially when cross-promoted by other units, can be effective in raising awareness about OER. It is an entry way into the important issue of affordability in a positive way that can reward faculty for innovative teaching. An OER award program is a great vehicle for broader outreach and communication about OER, open pedagogy, and open scholarship.

Different Types of Award Programs
Your award program may be monetary or non-monetary and it is important to recognize the benefits of both. Depending on the type of faculty you work with and their needs, a small monetary award may be helpful, especially when it allows them to hire students to assist with the course redesign or OER creation, or aids in the purchasing of technology or other supplies.
A larger monetary award might be suitable for the creation of a brand new OER textbook or a more involved project. However, not all incentives are perceived equally by different types of faculty, as research suggests. Non-monetary teaching awards, letters of recognition, and student-voted awards can also be very effective in incentivizing faculty. The tenure and promotion process guides many aspects of faculty’s work, and these types of recognition can be used in faculty impact statements.

Examples of Award Programs
University of Massachusetts Amherst Links to an external site.
Kwantlen Polytechnic University Links to an external site.
Open Oregon Links to an external site.
University of Missouri - St. Louis Links to an external site.
Texas A&M University student-nominated award Links to an external site.

Links to an external site.Pros of Award Programs

  • Incentivize OER adoption and creation
  • Grow momentum and demonstrate impact through before/after scenarios and assessment
  • Good way to start a conversation across campus
  • Natural venues for collaboration (ex. center for teaching and learning, student government, provost office)
  • Even if the program is focused on adoption/affordability, it could lead to creation later on
  • Money is nice, but not required. Also, possible to find departments willing to match/contribute

Cons of Award Programs

  • Money!
  • Time, expertise, who’s job is it?
  • Bureaucracy
  • Saying “no”
  • Reporting, assessing, accountability
  • Adopting is low-hanging fruit, but what about creating OER?

Final Tips

  • Know your institution’s policies and work closely with the business office on administer the award program; note that departments may have different policies and procedure regarding faculty awards
  •  Project management and record-keeping is key to maintaining a narrative of the award’s impact over time
  •  Continually revise rubrics/criteria and provide workshops for faculty to help them understand the goals of the program
  • Look for funding from campus partners, including teaching and learning, student government, academic departments, etc.

 Footnotes

1. Adapted from Todorinova, L., & Wilkinson, T.Z. Incentivizing faculty for open educational resources (OER) adoption and open textbook             Links to an external site. Links to an external site.authoring Links to an external site.. The Journal of Academic Librarianship. (2020, Nov. 1).