Columbia, SC, United States
Official Website
• @UofSC
Type: Public 4-Year, Research University
Annual Enrollment: 32,971
The University of South Carolina Columbia, a large publicly-funded research institution founded in 1801, is the flagship campus of the University of South Carolina. USC is one of 32 public universities to earn the Carnegie Foundation's top-tier designations in research activity and community engagement. It currently offers the number one undergraduate international business major, international MBA, PhD program in exercise science, and honors college.
The University of South Carolina, led by the University Libraries, is involved in promoting awareness of open and affordable learning options to faculty and administration. These efforts include regular workshops, presentations to departmental and campus-wide meetings, and the integration of affordable, open, and library-licensed materials into library services. USC also offers an annual award program, SCoer, awarding faculty members with a monetary reward and library assistance to transform a class taught with traditional course materials into a zero cost course.
Campus Entities Most Active in Efforts Advancing OER:
Library Departments Active in Efforts Advancing OER:
Academic Subjects With Greatest OER Traction:
Mechanisms to Support OER Included in the Following:
OER Staff Location:
SCoer Faculty Awards are available to faculty interested in saving students money and revitalizing course materials. Four annual awards are provided. Winners receive $500 and work closely with a librarian to identify and select openly available or library licensed resources. These resources are used to produce a syllabus to be implemented within one year.
Winners are selected by members of the University Libraries and Student Government.
Since 2015, winners of the SCoer Faculty Award have saved students over $380,000 in textbook costs and have experienced the freeing effects of regaining control over their course materials.
Program Type:
Duration: 05/2015 - Present
Scope: Cost-free course content, including OER
Primary OER Strategy: OER Adoption
Secondary OER Strategies: OER Adaptation, OER Awareness, OER Pedagogy
Unit Housing the Program:
Program Partners:
Source of Program Funding:
Funding from Library Departments:
Total Program Funding to Date: $ 10,500
Total Student Savings to Date: $ 384,000
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: $ 10,500
Total number of incentive grants awarded to date: 25
Typical amount of each grant: $ 500
This program recognizes faculty using open educational resources and other freely available course materials. Professors can be self-nominated or nominated by students to receive the Professor for Student Affordability Student Government Distinction.
Program Type:
Duration: 07/2017 - Present
Program Webpage: http://guides.library.sc.edu/OER/profstudentaffordability
Scope: Cost-free course content, including OER
Primary OER Strategy: OER Awareness
Secondary OER Strategies: OER Adaptation, OER Adoption, OER Curation
Unit Housing the Program:
Program Partners:
Source of Program Funding:
Incentives Offered by the Program:
Amie Freeman
Scholarly Communication Librarian, University Libraries
@amiedfreeman