SPARC Projects

Connect OER

Open Education

University of Calgary

Calgary, AB, Canada
Official Website • @ucalgary

Type: Public 4-Year, Research University
Annual Enrollment: 30,201

  SPARC Member  

OER Webpage
OER LibGuide

Overview

The development, adoption and adaptation of Open Educational Resources (OER) is emerging in Alberta largely because of the contributions of motivated individuals and groups who are supported by government funding. At the University of Calgary, a cross-functional group including faculty members active in OER development, students, educational development specialists, librarians and the Bookstore have identified a need to develop an integrated network for communicating about, resourcing and advocating for, OERs.

The University of Calgary launched the OER pilot project on July 4, 2017, with the goal of providing academic staff members with the opportunity to adopt and adapt or create OER for a class at the University of Calgary. Ten projects received funding. These projects represent numerous faculties from across campus, and affected courses ranging from first-year undergraduate to second-year graduate studies. The pilot project concluded in June 2018.

Communications for the 2017 - 2018 year were phased to accommodate two tiers of activity: the launch of OER funding for faculty, and OER Week. Communications highlighted the financial benefit of OERs to students and the collaborative efforts between multiple units to deliver the best possible learning resources for students. Moving forward, the University of Calgary will continue to advocate for OERs through awareness, Open Education Week and other initiatives.

In 2020, the University of Calgary, as a participant in the Alberta OER Technology and Infrastructure Working Group, participated in the launch of the Open Education Alberta Program. This no-fee provincial program seeks to eliminate barriers to adopting, adapting and creating open textbooks by providing Alberta post-secondary institutions with easy-to-use online publishing software. The University of Alberta Library will host and maintain the Pressbooks publishing software, and partner institutions will establish workflows and service models that fit their unique community needs.

Campus Details

Campus Entities Most Active in Efforts Advancing OER:

Library Departments Active in Efforts Advancing OER:

Academic Subjects With Greatest OER Traction:


OER Programs

OER Pilot Project Grant

The University of Calgary marked the March 2017 Open Education Week by announcing the launch of a new initiative designed to provide institutional support for adopting and adapting OERs. The OER Pilot, launched July 4, 2017, allows academic staff to submit a proposal to receive a grant of up to $4000 that can be used to embed OER resources in a course over the 2017-18 academic year. Proposals will be accepted until August 16, 2017, with a total of ten applications selected. Progress on the Pilot projects will be showcased in March 2018 during Open Education Week at the University of Calgary.

The development of OERs at the University of Calgary will be in the form of adopt, adapt, and create:

1) Adopt: replace course textbook and learning resource content with existing, peer reviewed, researched, academic open educational resources
2) Adapt: adapt existing peer reviewed, researched, academic open educational resources for your context
3) Create: design, write, and / or create new, peer reviewed (preferable), researched, academic open educational resources for your syllabus based learning outcomes. and share that learning resource with the public as an OER

Program Type:

Duration: 07/2017 - 06/2017

Program Webpage: http://www.ucalgary.ca/open/

Scope: OER (open course content)

Primary OER Strategy: OER Adaptation

Secondary OER Strategies: OER Adoption, OER Awareness, OER Publication, OER Review/Assessment

Unit Housing the Program:

Program Partners:

Source of Program Funding:

Total Program Funding to Date: $ 40,000

Incentives Offered by the Program:

Conditions: Recipients are required to openly license and freely share resources created or adapted

Total amount of incentive grants awarded to date: $ 39,953

Total number of incentive grants awarded to date: 10

Typical amount of each grant: $ 4,000


Point of Contact

Christie Hurrell
Digital Initiatives and Scholarly Communication Librarian, Libraries and Cultural Resources
@achurrell