Open Educational Resources

No-Cost Course Initiative

RVCC's OER journey began in the spring of 2017 when the RVCC Foundation and Instructional Services Librarian secured a $15,000 donation to support faculty mini-grants for converting courses to open educational resources. A call for proposals was opened for courses to convert in the 2018-2019 academic year. As the initiative has progressed, faculty are choosing to adopt open textbooks, openly licensed digital materials, and/or free-to-student course materials to offer No-cost courses. Thus the initiative is not solely an OER program, but rather has the goal of making as many courses as possible have zero-textbook costs. In addition, the initiative has prompted faculty to evaluate the cost of their course materials if OER is not suitable and to find less expensive alternatives. We have a number of courses that have been identified as Low-cost for which course materials cost less than $45. In 2018, RVCC SGA identified this amount as a reasonable threshold for courses to be considered "low-cost."

Since the first round of grants, private donors to the RVCC Foundation have continued to support the initiative with a total of nearly $120,000 in funding. That funding has resulted in more than $4.1 million in student savings since 2018. Total savings and enrollment in grant-funded no-cost courses can be viewed on the OER Grant Student Savings dashboard. The current list of no-cost courses and low-cost courses offered is available through the Library website.

The Faculty OER Grant Program is administered by the OER Steering Committee, which is chaired by the Instructional Services Librarian and has representation from both academic divisions, student services, and the Center for Teaching, Learning and Scholarship.

2023-2024 Grants Awarded

The following courses received grants to adopt/adapt/create OER to replace the commercial textbook:

The following courses received grants for other projects associated with open educational practices:

2022-2023 Grants Awarded

The following courses received grants to adopt/adapt/create OER to replace the commercial textbook:

The following courses received grants for other projects associated with open educational practices:

2021-2022 Grants Awarded

The following courses received grants to adopt/adapt/create OER or free-to-student materials to replace the commercial textbook:

2020-2021 Grants Awarded

For the 2020-2021 academic year, the OER Steering Committee awarded grants to 15 projects, involving 18 faculty converting 18 courses. These courses will begin running with zero-textbook costs during the COVID-19 pandemic semesters, thus greatly benefiting students in a time of need. 

Apply for an OER Grant. Limited grant opportunities are still available, while funding lasts.

2019-2020 Faculty Grants Awarded

In May 2019, the OER Steering Committee awarded grants to faculty to convert courses to free and open materials for the 2019-2020 academic year. 15 faculty received awards to covert 12 courses. 

2018-2019 Faculty Grants Awarded 

During Summer 2018, the RVCC OER Steering Committee approved 12 projects proposed by 17 faculty members to covert courses to free and open educational resources. These project grants are funded by a gift made to the RVCC Foundation. All projects will be implemented during the 18-19 academic year with the potential to save students over $100,000 on textbook costs in the first year. 

For more information on faculty OER grants, contact Megan Dempsey.