Open Resources

In 2025 SCU Library is piloting an OER Grant Program to provide financial support to SCU staff to replace commercial, prescribed textbooks with a free for student alternative.

Two levels of grants will be offered to academic and professional staff responsible for designing and/or delivering SCU units:

• $1000 to adopt existing OER and/or Library subscribed resources to replace commercial textbook/s in a unit
• $2000 to develop or adapt OER or an open textbook to replace commercial textbook/s in a unit.

Defined terms

Adopt: Use existing OER and/or Library subscribed resources in a curated myReadings list.
Adapt: Using an existing OER or open textbook as a base, customise the content to fit the unit learning outcomes and student needs.
Develop: Create a whole new OER or open textbook using your own, original materials.
Library subscribed resources: Any material where the Library pays a subscription or fee to provide SCU staff and students with access to the content. Students can access the material for free through the Library catalogue. 
Open educational resources (OER): Any learning or teaching material which has a licence that allows it to be freely copied, used, updated and reshared. OER can include course materials, images, videos, audio, lesson plans, or software.
Open textbook: A textbook that has been published with a Creative Commons Licence allowing others to freely access, use and reshare the content.

Aims of the program 

The aims of the grant program are to:

• assist the transition to zero textbook cost units at SCU
• enhance student learning outcomes and experience by reducing the financial burden on students
• increase the use of high quality open and Library subscribed resources as learning materials at SCU.

Use of the grant funds

There will be no limitations on what the funds can be used for, other than to achieve the overall goal of replacing commercial, prescribed textbook/s with a free for student alternative. Some suggested uses of the funds include:

• buy-out of teaching or marking to investigate viable open or Library-subscribed resources to replace a prescribed text
• employing an editor, proof-reader, or graphic designer to assist with the development or adaptation of an OER
• purchasing a tool or software (e.g. video editing software) for the purpose of creating OER
• hiring students for a limited time to assist with the research or creation of OER.

How to apply

Staff members who are interested in applying for a grant should carefully read the OER Grant Program Guidelines. 

To be considered for a grant, submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to library@scu.edu.au.

EOIs will be assessed according to the selection criteria outlined in the Grant Guidelines (page 5). Project teams will be notified of the outcome of their application within 10 business days of submitting their EOI.

Key dates

• April 2025, EOIs open
• 5pm 26 September 2025, last date to submit an EOI (unless already allocated).

Questions

Email library@scu.edu.au if you have any questions about the grant program. 

Key documents

SCU is a participating member institution of the OER Collective facilitated by the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL). Participating members have: 

• ability to publish up to two open textbooks on the shared Pressbooks platform per year
• access to training, guides and templates
• access to two communities of practice - one for library staff, and one for academic authors
• the opportunity for academic authors to apply for OER Grants

CAUL OER Collective Grants for 2025-26 have been announced.

Grant categories include:

• Collaborate: $10,000 to create a major collaborative text
• Create: $2,500 to create a new text
• Adopt+: $2,500 (x 2) to create supplementary resources to use with an existing OER that will be adopted by the institution
• Wildcard: $3,000 to support a project that doesn't fit into any other OER Collective grant category.

Expressions of interest are now open and close:

• 30 May 2025 (Collaborate grant)
• 2 May 2025 (all other grants).