Affordable Course Materials Initiative

**Applicants are encouraged to review the OER Guide and schedule an appointment to discuss their project prior to submitting an application. (Please contact Julia Rodriguez, ACMI Team Lead ~ juliar@oakland.edu). The number of stipends awarded will be determined by the number and type of qualified applications received. 

Stipend Categories:

• Adoption/Adaptation - $1,000 - Replace required traditional textbook, online homework and lab manuals by adopting and adapting an existing open textbook or OER course components. (Use of low-cost homework system paired with the open textbook is permitted. *Final cost to students must be less than $50.)
• Creation - $1,500 - $3,000 - Develop openly licensed materials. Create OER materials or open textbook for a current course to replace required costly course materials. (Total stipend amount determined by the scope of the project.)
• Revision/Innovation No-cost - $800 -  Replace a traditional textbook with articles, book excerpts, audio, or video that are licensed through University Libraries or available online at low-cost or through the use of public domain or open access content. 
• Revision/Innovation Low-cost - $500 - Replace a traditional textbook with articles, book excerpts, audio, or video available online at low-cost. (*Final cost to students must be less than $50.).
• Department/Program stipend - Conversion of a multi-section course proposed by a program or group of faculty developing materials together.  (This type of award would be a payment directly to the program or department to cover the cost for a faculty course release or other types of expense.)
   

Faculty Eligibility

• All Oakland University faculty and instructors teaching a course in Fall 2023 or Winter 2024 are eligible to apply. 
• Faculty can apply as a team. Only one faculty leader should complete the application.   
• Team applications should include at least one instructor who has taught the course previously and one instructor who is the instructor of record for the course the semester the new material will be implemented.  
• Faculty previously receiving a stipend may re-apply for a new course or as part of a team. However, new applicants may be given preference. 

Course Information

• Projects are for courses using course materials costing more than $50, to convert courses to low or no-cost courses. 
• Courses must have previously been offered at OU.
   

Program Requirements: 

1. All stipend recipients must attend an orientation workshop and submit a work plan and timeline by the beginning of Summer I. 
2. An outcomes report must be submitted prior to the end of the first semester after implementation in the proposed course. 
3. Recipients are expected to mark their course in Banner with the appropriate cost designation each time the course is offered.
4. Recipients will be expected to share their experiences with OU colleagues either through department meeting presentations, participation in workshops, or publication. 
5. Recipients must openly license any instructional material created or adapted with a Creative Commons license and be willing to share it in an open education repository; such as OER Commons.

Application Evaluation Criteria

1. Feasibility of the applicant implementing the project within the project’s timeframe.
2. Likelihood the resource will be used in future semesters and/or generalizability of the resource to other courses at the university.
3. A plan for assessment of the resource aligned to course outcomes.
4. Estimated savings for OU students and impact on the student body.