COLUMBUS, Ohio — Dr. Nicole Johnson, professor of philosophy and religious studies at the University of Mount Union, was recently selected as one of 30 faculty members from Ohio higher education institutions to be awarded an Open Educational Resources (OER) Course Redesign Grant from OhioLINK. 

According to a release from OhioLINK, the OER grants will help instructors learn about teaching with OER, which could save students more than $1 million each year.

The award compensates faculty for participation in a four-week online training course about OER and a consultation with an OER-specialist librarian to help identify alternatives to commercial texts in their syllabus.

“I have wanted to re-vamp my REL 360G Religious Conflict & Peacebuilding course for a year or so and this grant provided accountability for that work along with assistance in locating and integrating OERs for use in the classroom,” Johnson said. “Through the grant, which included the expert assistance of OhioLINK librarians who located relevant OER options, I have re-designed my course to include a very good peer-reviewed special-issue journal on religion and violence.”

“OhioLINK Affordable Learning discovered that this targeted support is effective in helping faculty transition away from higher-cost commercial textbooks,” said OhioLINK Executive Director Amy Pawlowski. “If the faculty grantees convert their course to OER, Ohio students could save more than $1.5 million in a single academic year.”

Johnson and other instructors will be able to use OERs in their courses as early as the fall 2024 semester.

Learn more about OhioLINK at ohiolink.edu.