Open mines: Launching a mini-grant program to incentivize open educational resource development for stem disciplines

Abstract

A common complaint among STEM faculty is the lack of existing Open Educational Resources (OER) to support upper class and graduate coursework. High-level courses or niche subject areas such as groundwater engineering or advanced manufacturing lack rigorous OER course material. Spearheaded by the Arthur Lakes Library, Colorado School of Mines was awarded an institutional-level grant by the Colorado Department of Higher Education to establish a mini-grant program. This program, Open Mines, would incentivize faculty on campus to use OER in their courses. This paper describes the Library's role in establishing the university's mini-grant program, an assessment of the first year of awards, and lessons learned. The initial grant cycle has been assessed in various ways, including data on cost savings to students and OER usage on campus. Lessons learned while administering the first cohort of mini-grants include addressing accessibility, dissemination, and copyright concerns. This project contributes to the discussion on the role of OER in STEM curriculum and techniques librarians can use to facilitate OER adoption at their institutions.