Stipend Application Instructions

Overview

Faculty interested in applying for this opportunity are encouraged to explore partnering with their Open@WRLC Textbook Affordability Working Group (TAWG) representative or Reference Librarians to discover Open Educational Resources that may be of use in their courses.

To submit a proposal for the Faculty Course Transformation Stipend, complete the application at Open@WRLC. All proposals must be submitted by Friday, March 8, 2024 11:59 p.m. (EST). If you have any questions about the grant program or the application, please contact your TAWG campus representative. If your institution does not have a TAWG campus representative, please contact us at open@wrlc.org

Before you begin: Request an Account

To begin the submission process, you must request an account be created for you on the website. Use the link below to submit your request. Be sure you meet the eligibility requirements before you submit the form.

Once you are approved, you will receive information via email on how to log in and begin the submission process.

Request an Account

Submitting your Application

Once you are approved and an account has been created for you, you may submit your application at any time. Below are examples of the fields you will be required to provide for the stipend application. Please take the time necessary to gather your documents prior to beginning the submission process. During the submission process, you may save your progress and return at any time.

To help, we recommend you download and print a PDF version of this guide to help you gather materials prior to submission.

All proposals must be submitted by March 8, 2024 11:59 PM(EST)

Submission Form Fields

Below are descriptions and examples of the information your will be required to submit for your application. Please gather this information prior to beginning the submission process.

Applicant and Team Information

The applicant is the proposed Project Lead for the stipend project. The submitter is the person submitting the application (which may be a Grants Officer or Administrator). The submitter will often be the applicant—if so, leave the submitter field blank.

Project leads are required to oversee the development, budget, and timeline

Institution

Applicant Name

Applicant Email Address

Applicant Position/Title

Submitter Name

Submitter Position/Title

Team Member	Institution	Name/Position/Title/Email Address
Team Member 1
Team Member 2
Team Member 3
Team Member 4
Team Member 5

If your project team includes other members, please include the following information for each member: Institution, Name, Position, Title, and Email Address

TAWG Informational Webinar Attendance

Did you attend the recommended informational webinar and/or meet with your campus TAWG representative before submitting your application? Include your TAWG representative’s name and meeting date within the provided fields

Previous OER Experience

Have you participated in the Open@WRLC Open Textbook Library $200 stipend review program? Please note, participation in the $200 OTL review stipend program is not a requirement for the Open@WRLC Faculty Course Transformation Program
Do you have any experience using OER? If yes, please provide a brief description

Work Plan

Describe your plans for implementing your project during the 2023-2024 academic year. Please state the intended work plan, including target dates for completion and indicating any ancillary materials that will be made available for the Open@WRLC repository. Please be sure to address the Eligibility Criteria and Participation Requirements noted in the Request for Proposals.

OER Material to be Adopted

Title	Author and URL link

Statement of Goals and Impact

The benefits of OER go beyond cost savings. Briefly, describe the pedagogical goals that this adoption would aid and the impact that it would have on the course, your students, your department or your program. Please be sure to address the Eligibility Criteria and Participation Requirements noted in the Request for Proposals.

Budget Narrative

Submit a budget and budget narrative for your project, if known. Funds can be used in a variety of ways including faculty stipends, release time, and the like.

Impact Data

Use this worksheet to calculate the proposal’s impact data. (a downloadable version is available here ) Fill in the data below with impact data below with one course (all sections) in each table, and only include courses and instructors that are specifically part of the scope of this grant proposal. Add or remove tables as needed. If the materials used by different instructors in a course vary drastically, it is possible to enter one course per instructor.

For a multi-course project, if a significant amount of students are assumed to take courses in a sequence and only one textbook is used for these courses, please take this into account in your total (i.e. only include that book in the first course they would purchase it for OR adjust the number of students affected). Please explain in the notes section if making such adjustments.

Example:

Row #
	Course title and number Introduction to Biology Bio 110
	Brief Description Intro-level course to biology concepts for majors, including cell structure and function, ecology, and animal behavior.
	Course Schedule (When and How Often Offered) M W F 11:00- 12:00
	Course instructors Dr. Rachel Borchardt
1	Average number of students enrolled per section	20
2	Average number of affected course sections scheduled in the Fall 23 semester	2
3	Average number of affected course sections scheduled in the Spring 24 semester	2
4	Average number of affected course sections scheduled in the Summer 24 semester	0
5	Total number of course sections scheduled Add up rows 2-4	4
6	Total number of student section enrollments per academic year Multiply row 1 and row 5	80
7	Original required commercial textbooks Include each title author price for a new copy purchased from either your camps bookstore the publisher or Amazon, and a URL to the book showing the cost	$125.00
8	Original cost per student section enrollment Add up the cost of all materials in row 7	$125.00
9	Average post-project cost per student section enrollment	$25
10	Average post-project savings per student section enrollment Subtract row 9 from row 8	$100
11	Projected total annual student savings per academic year Multiply row 10 and 6	$8,000.00

Three Year Student Savings Calculation

Sections Committed Over Three Year Period	12
Number of Students Per Section	20
Cost of Resource to be Replaced	$125.00
Average post-project savings per student section enrollment	$100.00
Total Three Year Cost Savings	$24,000.00

Notes:

Course Information

Upload current course syllabus
Is this course currently confirmed to be offered in the university’s course catalog for the 2024-2025 academic year? If not, when can confirmation be expected?
How many of the offered sections will the project lead or team members, specifically, be scheduled to instruct?
If the project lead or team members are not scheduled to instruct, would your department commit to using the OER course transformation for the course?

Sustainability

Describe plans to ensure the sustainability of the material. Be sure to include which faculty will ensure materials are kept up to date and how often they will be reviewed.

Creative Commons Terms

I understand that any new materials or revisions created with Open@WRLC funding will, by default, be made available to the public under a Creative Commons 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), with exceptions for modifications of pre-existing resources with a more restrictive license.

Accessibility Terms

I understand that any new materials or revisions, created with WRLC funding, must be developed in compliance with the specific accessibility standards defined in the application; WCAG 2.0 and WCAG 2.1

Letter of Support

Each affiliated department must include the following statement of support on letterhead and signed by the Department’s Chair or direct report such as the Dean or Provost. In the case of multi-institutional affiliations, all participants’ institutions must provide a letter of support.

To the Open@WRLC Course Transformation Stipend Program,

I write on behalf of (Affiliated Faculty) in support of their proposal entitled, (Name of Stipend Proposal). The (Name of Department of College) strongly supports this effort and is willing to comply with the terms of the grant as outlined in the request for proposals released on January 31, 2023.

This includes but is not limited to, supporting the implementation of the curricular resources adopted by this project in the classroom, providing support for fund disbursement in correspondence with Grants/Business Office, acknowledging the sustainability of the use of these no-cost/low-cost resources after the stipend work is complete, and reporting data on their impact on student success.

Signed

(Name of Department Head)

Memorandum of Understanding

I acknowledge that, if my Open@WRLC Faculty Course Transformation Program application is accepted, I am responsible for contacting my institution’s TAWG representative to discuss the application and funding disbursement procedures.
I understand that my project plans related to transforming:___________ ___________ [course name and number] at ____________________________________ [partnering WRLC institution] to no or low textbook costs must be completed by August 26, 2024 for Fall 2024 implemented courses and December 2, 2024 for Spring 2025 implemented courses.
I am and/or my project collaborator(s) _______________________________[list all names included in application] are committed to teaching at least one section of the course(s) using the transitioned OER materials by at least the Spring 2025 semester.
I confirm that this transitioned course will employ Open Educational Resources (OER) with a Creative Commons 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) and have a zero or low-cost ($40.00 or less) total for the course’s required materials.
I understand that the transformed course’s syllabus may include supplemental material such as Open Access (OA) and Affordable Learning Content (ALC) and/or other freely accessible material but must provide a primary OER required textbook or course material.
I understand I will be making a good faith effort to teach this course for a total of 3 years. I will continue to use the open materials during that period, and will maintain a zero or low-cost ($40.00 or less) total for the course’s required materials.
I am committed to working to ensure my course and the materials used are fully accessible according to Open@WRLC Digital Accessibility (DA) Guidelines and WCAG 2.0 standards
I and/or my project collaborator(s) assume responsibility for the sustainability of the courseware material and have created a schedule to review and ensure material is current and functioning as expected
I understand that my course syllabus and corresponding ancillary material, post transformation, must be made available to the public under a Creative Commons 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) on the Open@WRLC repository.
I will maintain open channels of communication with the Open@WRLC project manager, and notify them when we anticipate changes in scope or timeline.
I will make myself available to the program’s scheduled progress report updates, professional development webinars and share outcomes and lessons learned at an Open@WRLC convening or webinar
I acknowledge that, if my proposal application is accepted, I agree to complete a Semester Data report per the provided due dates. Faculty will report measures of impact on student success and return on investment to assess the effectiveness of the program, inform program improvement and illustrate the impact of textbook savings. Reports will be used to summarize participant data for public distribution, such as on the WRLC website, presentations and articles.
I have read the above statements and confirm my understanding and commitment to these statements.

*Grants or Business Office Acknowledgment Form

*Note: This section will only be required for approved applications.

Institutional Grants/Business Offices will be responsible for fund disbursement, often in correspondence with the Department Chair. Upon the grant being awarded, grantees will be responsible for providing a signed acknowledgement form, stating that the Grants/Business Office knows about the applicant’s intent to apply for an Open@WRLC grant. In the case of multi-institutional affiliations, all participants’ institutions must provide this form.