MSU Denver

Faculty: get your courses marked as low- or no-cost for Spring 2023

Read Faculty Success Stories implementing OER across disciplines

Finding OER

Open educational resources range from whole textbooks to smaller units of material like simulations and case studies. Check out a variety of places to find OER below.

Implementing OER

Perhaps the easiest first step toward using OER is adding an OER textbook as a supplemental resource on your syllabus.

Adopting OER can mean just switching to an existing OER textbook, or it can be a thoughtful course redesign of your entire course to integrate a variety of resource and learning experiences throughout your course. Some resources that will help you think about how to effectively design your course are available below.

OER and tenure/promotion

Faculty efforts around OER adoption, adaption and creation can relate to the tenure process in multiple ways. Some departments are adjusting their guidelines so that faculty OER creation projects count under scholarship. Extensive course redesign, which includes integrating OER, is work related to teaching.

A helpful framework for thinking about OER work in the context of tenure and promotion is available from an organization of systems in higher education, DOERS3.

Connecting with other faculty around OER

MSU Denver faculty have a wealth of experience implementing OER across a wide variety of courses.

  • If you are looking to tap into that community, consider joining an OER-themed faculty learning community (a new one starts at the beginning of each semester).
  • Talk with your chair about whether a course you teach is eligible for the Center for Teaching, Learning and Design course development cycle (the course must have at least one online section). The MSU Denver instructional design team has extensive experience helping faculty integrate OER into their courses.

Interested in implementing OER in your courses?

Email Us

Reach out to OER coordinator Emily Ragan to get connected to faculty who have done work in a similar field or with similar types of resources.

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