ORS 348.750 Definitions; Open Educational Resources Grant Program

As used in ORS 348.748 to 348.757, “open educational resources” means teaching, learning and research resources that:

Reside in the public domain or that have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and repurposing by others; and

Conform to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and to any additional accessibility standards established by the Higher Education Coordinating Commission by rule.

The Open Educational Resources Grant Program is established within the Higher Education Coordinating Commission and in collaboration with public universities listed in ORS 352.002 and community colleges. The purpose of the program is to encourage the use of low or no-cost open educational resources in Oregon’s post-secondary institutions of education.

Subject to the availability of funds, the commission shall award grants on a competitive basis to public universities listed in ORS 352.002, community colleges or consortia of public universities and community colleges.

In awarding grants under subsection (3) of this section, the commission shall give priority to applications that propose to:

Adapt or otherwise make use of existing open educational resources;

Leverage grants awarded under this section with matching private funds or other resources;

Utilize students in the design or production of open educational resource materials;

Involve coordinated activities between two or more public universities and community colleges;

Focus on high-enrollment courses;

Address a need not currently met by existing available resources; and

Assist in convening faculty from public universities and community colleges to promote the use of open educational resources within post-secondary education.