Section 23-4.5-104 - Open educational resources grant program - created - report(1) There is created in the department of higher education the open educational resources grant program to provide funding for public institutions of higher education, faculty, and staff to create and expand the use of open educational resources across institutions around the state. The grant program consists of grants to: (a) Public institutions of higher education to support creating, adapting, and promoting the use of open educational resources at the institution or on a campus;(b) Faculty and staff of public institutions of higher education, individually or in small groups, to support the creating, adapting, and promoting of open educational resources; and(c) Public institutions of higher education to support the development, implementation, and replication of zero-textbook-cost degree programs. In recommending recipients of a grant for this purpose, the council shall prioritize high-demand industry credential programs and high-enrollment degree programs such as information technology programs, health care, and business.(2)(a) The council, working with the department, shall develop timelines and procedures by which public institutions of higher education, faculty, and staff may apply for a grant, including the information that must be included in an application and the deadlines for submitting applications.(b) An application for an institutional grant may include:(I) Evidence of the existence of an open educational resources council or committee at the applying institution or campus;(II) Identification of library, instructional design, and administrative staffing to support the open educational resources initiative for which a grant is requested;(III) The manner in which the courses that use open educational resources will be identified for students prior to the time, and at the point, of course registration, which may include identification in the schedule of classes;(IV) A plan for expanding the adoption of open educational resources across the campus or institution that receives the grant, which may include awarding grants to faculty members, reducing a faculty member's required teaching hours, or providing other incentives to faculty for adapting and developing open educational resources;(V) The manner in which the grant recipient will evaluate the success of the open educational resources initiative; and(VI) A plan for and commitment to sustaining the open educational resources initiative after the grant is completed.(c) An application for a faculty or staff grant, whether individual or small group, may include:(I) Information concerning the textbooks and other materials in use at the time the grant is received, the costs of the textbooks and materials, and how the applicant expects to use the grant money to adapt or develop open educational resources to replace the textbooks and other materials;(II) The manner in which the grant recipients will evaluate the use of the open educational resources developed using the grant, including the number of students who are affected and the cost savings to students as a result of the open educational resources developed using the grant; and(III) The plan for ensuring that open educational resources that are adapted or developed using the grant money are publicized and made available to other faculty and students within the public institution of higher education and other public institutions of higher education.(3)(a) The council shall review the grant applications received and recommend to the commission applicants to which the commission may choose to award grants and the amount of each grant. Subject to available appropriations, the commission shall award grants through the grant program. The commission shall take into account, but is not bound by, the recommendations of the council. In making recommendations and awarding grants, the council and the commission shall consider whether the application: (I) Affects courses with high student enrollment or high textbook or materials costs;(II) Affects high-impact courses such as the core courses described in section 23-1-125 (3) or courses included in concurrent enrollment agreements entered into pursuant to article 35 of title 22; and(III) Supports adaptation or development of open educational resources by teams of faculty, librarians, and instructional designers within a public institution of higher education or across multiple institutions, making it more likely that the resources will be used in multiple courses or sections.(b) The commission shall adopt guidelines to address potential conflicts of interest for members of the council that may arise in recommending applicants to receive grants.(4) Each grant recipient, as a condition of receiving the grant, must: (a) Submit to the department data concerning the number of students affected by open educational resources developed or adapted using the grant, the estimated amount of student savings that results from using the open educational resources, and measures of the effectiveness of the grant project;(b) Agree to openly license and share, under the broadest possible license, any open educational resources developed or adapted using the grant;(c) Agree to comply with the guidelines and parameters adopted by the council pursuant to subsection (6) of this section for implementing the grants;(d) Post new or adapted open educational resources to an open repository in editable file formats or with source code; and(e) Comply with the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990", 42 U.S.C. sec. 12101 et seq., as amended, to enable persons with disabilities to access the open educational resources developed or adapted using the grant.(5) The council shall work with the department to prepare an annual report concerning implementation and development of open educational resources around the state, as described in section 23-1-134 (3).(6) The council shall adopt guidelines and parameters by which grant recipients must implement the grant-funded open educational resources initiatives to ensure that the impact on students of the initiatives may be consistently measured and compared across public institutions of higher education.Amended by 2021 Ch. 97, § 4, eff. 5/5/2021.Added by 2018 Ch. 186, § 1, eff. 4/30/2018.L. 2018: Entire article added, (HB 18-1331), ch. 1256, p. 1256, § 1, effective April 30.' L. 2021: (1), (2)(b)(III), (4)(a), and (5) amended, (SB 21 -215), ch. 388, p. 388, § 4, effective May 5.