Texas Two-Step: Varied Approaches to Supporting Faculty Adoption and Creation of OER

The need to support faculty who are adopting or creating OER is tantamount to growing an Open Education program. Two schools within the University of Texas system, UT Austin and UT Rio Grande Valley, take varied approaches on assisting faculty with their OER efforts. At UT Rio Grande Valley, faculty are offered mini-professional development stipends to explore, review, and adopt OER. At UT Austin, faculty apply for a stipend-supported fellowship in which they adopt or create OER intended to render their course cost-free for students. In this presentation, attendees will learn about both approaches, each of which provides targeted methods to support and engage with faculty. Attendees will leave the presentation with concrete ideas and resources to begin or grow similar programs at their own institutions, including ideas on how to market those programs, how to support participating faculty, and how to overcome potential obstacles.