OER Faculty Grant

The Affordable Instructional Resources (AIR) initiative invites faculty to apply for grant funding to adopt, adapt, or develop open educational resources (OER) for undergraduate courses.

OER are teaching materials that are free, distributed online, and allow anyone to copy, use, adapt, and remix the materials for free. OER are commonly used as alternatives to expensive textbooks by providing students with high quality course readings at no cost.

Funded by the Office of the Provost and University Libraries, these grants are intended to fund the work involved in finding, creating, using, and sharing OER as replacements for required commercial textbooks. No experience with OER is necessary to apply.

Award Levels

Grant levels and corresponding expectations
Level	Award Amount	Expectation
Level 1	$1,000	Locate, evaluate, and adopt an existing OER for use in your course Use our Find Existing OER page to begin browsing options. Recipients at this level who are using a book that is indexed in the Open Textbook Library (OTL) must write and submit a review of the book using the OTL Review Criteria.
Level 2	$2,500	Adapt, update, or combine existing OER into a new resource. Recipients at this level will need to identify existing OER to adapt or combine. Use our Find Existing OER page to begin browsing options. This level is also appropriate for former recipients who want to make additions or updates to their previously published OER.
Level 3	$5,000	Create an original OER for your course. This should be a substantial original creation, such as a textbook, video series, or supplementary and homework materials to be used for a quarter or semester-length course.

All grant recipients receive individualized support from librarians on finding, using, and publishing OER. See below for a detailed list of the type of support offered. Grant funds can be taken as a stipend, or used to pay for aspects of OER development, such as student assistants, recording equipment, or travel. Standard taxes and benefit deductions apply.

Grant requirements

Selected grantees will be required to complete the following:

Attend a launch meeting in late spring 2026 to connect with fellow grantees, learn the basics of OER, and discuss project ideas.
Meet with the Open Education Librarian for an individualized OER consultation to discuss a timeline and work plan.
Check in with the Open Education Librarian quarterly or as needed during the grant period to report progress and request support.
Share a standard assessment form with students following the first quarter in which the new course materials are used; responses will be shared with the AIR team and the faculty recipients.
Complete a feedback form regarding your experience with the OER Faculty Grant Program.
Participate in at least one speaking engagement or interview to share your experience of creating an open resource with the Northwestern community.

For recipients of OER adaptation/creation grants:

Publish any new or derivative OER under a Creative Commons license that allows modifications
Publish OER created through the grant in an open, editable format

Completed projects are expected to be implemented in a course offered by Spring 2029.

Prior to submitting a proposal, faculty can contact a librarian at library@northwestern.edu to discuss project ideas.

OER Support Available

Consultations to discuss publishing platform options
Finding existing OER to adapt and build upon
Copyright guidance on the use of third-party materials
Formatting support, training, and hosting on Northwestern's publishing platform Open Books (powered by Pressbooks)
Working with AccessibleNU to ensure accessibility
Assigning a Creative Commons license, DOI, and/or ISBN
Creating exports of the OER in multiple formats (html web book, PDF, and EPUB)
Sharing your OER and making it discoverable via OER repositories
Maintaining persistent access and storage via Arch, Northwestern’s institutional repository

Eligibility

Full-time, benefits-eligible faculty, tenure-line or instructional, with continuing appointment through the grant period, who are creating materials for an undergradate course. Postdocs or adjunct faculty (including SPS faculty) who are interested in participating in the program may apply with an eligible sponsor, such as a department chair, faculty colleague, or administrator.

Application materials

Levels 1 and 2: Use or Adapt OER

We will consider one application per course. Up to two faculty members may submit a combined application for an OER creation project that covers multiple courses, in which case each faculty member may be eligible for the full grant amount ($1,000 or $2,500). Applications include submission of an online form, along with a brief project narrative (300 word limit), where we ask you to address the following:

1) Project summary: Which OER are you adpoting or remixing?
2) Impact: What affordability details (current material costs, usual enrollment, course frequency), student learning goals, and any disciplinary gaps this OER will fill?
3) Accessibility and licensing: How will you consider or incorporate accessible features into OER deliverables (alt text, headings, captions/transcripts, contrast, keyboard navigation) and your intended Creative Commons license? Learn more about the Creative Commons Licenses here.
4) Workplan summary: Please provide a short paragraph that points to your uploaded two-year timeline and highlights the first two milestones and your target first-use term. (For the next cycle, plan to implement no later than Winter 2028, consistent with the program’s two-year expectation)
5) Budget and justification: How funds will be used to achieve your goals (e.g., student assistants, accessibility services, media production, modest software tied to creation)?

Level 3: Create Original OER

We will consider one application per course. Up to two faculty members may submit a combined application for an OER creation project that covers multiple courses, in which case each faculty member may be eligible for a $5,000 grant. Applications include submission of an online form, along with a brief project narrative (500 word limit), where we ask you to address the following:

1) Project summary: What you will create (format, scope, audience) and why is OER the right approach for your course?
2) Impact: What affordability details (current material costs, usual enrollment, course frequency), student learning goals, and any disciplinary gaps this OER will fill?
3) Content and scope: Please provide details about expected OER deliverables and their format (e.g., Open Books/Pressbooks text with ancillaries, video set, slide decks, problem sets, test bank), estimated length or number of modules, your level of interest/familiarity with the platform you are aiming to work with, and any adapted third-party content with attribution plan.
4) Accessibility and licensing: How will you consider or incorporate accessible features into OER deliverables (alt text, headings, captions/transcripts, contrast, keyboard navigation) and your intended Creative Commons license? Learn more about the Creative Commons Licenses here (https://creativecommons.org/).
5) Workplan summary: Please provide a short paragraph that points to your uploaded two-year timeline and highlights the first two milestones and your target first-use term. (For the next cycle, plan to implement no later than Winter 2028, consistent with the program’s two-year expectation)
6) Budget and justification: How funds will be used to achieve your goals (e.g., student assistants, accessibility services, media production, modest software tied to creation)?

Project narratives will be accepted in PDF format via the application form. To see a list of grant recipients and OER-creation projects from past years, visit our grant recipients page.

All Applicants: Two Year Timeline

Upload a one-page timeline that lists a target quarter for OER implementation. Use NU quarters (F, W, Sp, Su) and year. Ideally, first classroom use no later than Spring 2029. Please provide target dates for the following:

Kickoff and scope finalized
30% draft completed
60% draft completed
90% draft + accessibility pass completed
Publish on Open Books and deposit in Arch
Dissemination plan shared

Evaluation Criteria

Project proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Potential cost savings: The proposal includes information on current material costs, usual or expected student enrollment, and the frequency of the course offering
Objectives: The proposal’s objectives are clearly articulated and well-planned. The rationale for approaching the project is clear, and the applicants have reflected on the work necessary to make it a success
Impact: The proposal articulates how the OER will make a pedagogical impact in the course and/or how it will fill a disciplinary gap in open content
Feasibility: The proposal’s timeline is feasible and aligns with the work required to complete the project in a timely manner. Priority will be given to projects expected to be used in a course by the 2026-2027 academic year.

Selection process

The application period for the 2026 grants is open until Monday, November 23rd, 2025. Applications will be evaluated by a selection committee comprised of members from the AIR team, a former grant recipient, and a learning engineer. Applicants will be notified in late January 2026 if their proposal has been selected for funding. Project work is expected to begin in summer 2026.

Grant criteria and application requirements were adapted from Iowa State University's Miller OER Grant Program.