Intent
Established in 2018, the OER Grant Program is a competitive program that provides grants to Texas public institutions of higher education to adopt, modify, redesign, or develop courses using only OER. The authority for the OER Grant Program is found in the General Appropriations Act, House Bill (H.B.) 1, Article III, Section 44, 88th Legislative Session Regular Session. THECB’s implementing regulations are found in Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Title 19, Part 1, Section 4.230 through 4.238.
An Open Educational Resource (OER) is a teaching, learning, or research resource that is in the public domain or has been released under an intellectual property license that permits the free use, adaptation, and redistribution of the resource by any person.
Eligibility
The 2025 – 2027 grant cycle is open to Texas public institutions of higher education, with faculty leading the work.
How to Apply
Application Closed.
Application Information
For the 2025 – 2027 grant cycle, the number of development and implementation grants awarded will be contingent upon the amount of appropriation available, and the evaluation of applications by qualified reviewers. The grant period will begin upon execution of a Notice of Grant Award and end on August 31, 2027.
THECB expects to award two categories of grant awards:
A maximum of $25,000 to Texas institutions of higher education to develop new or substantially improve existing OER for one or more courses as detailed in section 3.2 of this RFA. Application should also include a plan for including faculty from at least one other Texas public institution as contributors or peer reviewers. These grants should be matched with one-to-one contributions from the institution or institutions (contributions can be in-kind but cannot include faculty salaries).
Implementation Grants (Continuous Improvement)
A maximum of $5,000 to Texas institutions of higher education to support the substantial redesign of one or more courses to incorporate existing OER resources.
Important Dates
Nov. 22, 2024
OERGP Inquiry Deadline
Dec. 02, 2024
OERGP Application Due Date
March 2025
OERGP Grant Award Announcements
Date TBD
Grant Period begins upon execution of the Notice of Grant Award
Aug. 31, 2027
End of 2025 - 2027 grant cycle
Rules and Regulations
The authority for the OER Grant Program is found in the General Appropriations Act, House Bill (H.B.) 1, Article III, Section 44, 88th Legislative Session Regular Session. THECB’s implementing regulations are found in Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Title 19, Part 1, Section 4.230 through 4.238.
Impact
The 85th Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 810, which added Section 61.0668, Texas Education Code, to “encourage faculty at institutions of higher education to adopt, modify, redesign, or develop courses that use only open educational resources.” With stakeholder input through negotiated rulemaking, THECB proposed amendments to Texas Administrative Code, Title 19, Part 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter O, concerning the OERGP. The proposed amendments removed the undue burden of grant administration for individual faculty members by having public IHE serve as eligible applicants for the OERGP. The new rules were adopted by the THECB Board on October 27, 2022.
The annual OER Grant Program Legislative Report contains historical information about the program, including impact on students.
Grant Cycle
Applications for Grant Cycle 2025 are closed as of December 2nd, 2024.
Copies of the OERGP Grant Cycle 2025 RFA and supporting information can be found below:
