Faculty Perceptions of an OER Stipend Program

Abstract This study recounts the experimental implementation of a stipend program to incentivize and reward instructor use of open educational resources (OERs). The authors leveraged a statewide initiative to develop an award system based on specific criteria, and 24 instructors qualified. The authors surveyed awardees to explore their perceptions of using OERs and the utility of incentivizing that practice. All survey participants reported that the use of OERs had a highly or moderately positive impact on student learning and engagement. The majority of participants indicated curricular needs and textbook costs as the primary motivations for originally creating or adopting OERs; only one-third qualified the stipend program as either highly or moderately incentivizing. Participants also reported how they used their stipends, the challenges to OER adoption, and their recommendations for how to incentivize the practice. The authors discuss the implications for OER stipend programs generally, and they propose future research directions.