The Library Open Educational Resources (OER) Grant Program is supported by the Dean of Libraries and reflects the Library’s commitment to supporting the creation, adaptation and adoption of Open Educational Resources for use in the classroom. OER are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others.
OER include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge (Hewlett Foundation). For students, Open Educational Resources are a welcome alternative to the high cost of textbooks and educational materials which can be a barrier to learning. For faculty members, Open Educational Resources provide the flexibility to adapt course material to the course and pedagogical style rather than adapt the course and pedagogy to a static resource.
These grants advance the University’s priorities to foster an innovation ecosystem and ensure excellence in student learning experiences, and build on the TMU Library’s digital initiatives, expertise in Open Access and Open Education Resource publishing and dissemination, and academic priorities of access and openness.
This year (2025) we have three types of OER Grant opportunities. Two of these grants are Partnership grants, where the Library is offering a grant in partnership with another unit in the University. The deadline for all three grants this year is September 30th, 2025.
2025 Toronto Metropolitan University Libraries Open Educational Resources (OER) Grants
The TMU Libraries are pleased to announce its 2025 Toronto Metropolitan University Libraries Open Educational Resources (OER) Grants to encourage the creation and adoption of open educational resources. OER are learning materials that are openly licensed such that they are freely available to be adapted, copied, and shared. OER can be courses, modules, textbooks, multimedia, assessments, and supplementary materials. These grants have been offered by TMU Libraries since 2018.
These grants advance the University’s priorities to foster an innovation ecosystem, ensure excellence in student learning experiences, and build on TMU Libraries digital initiatives, expertise in Open Access and Open Education Resource publishing and dissemination, and academic priorities of access and openness. TMU Libraries are very pleased to collaborate with the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching and the Chang School of Continuing Education in the review and adjudication of the grants and the support of successful projects. A total of $30,000 is available in two categories of grants. The deadline is Sept 30th, 2025 and more information about this grant and the application process can be found here.
2025 Toronto Metropolitan University Library and Ted Rogers School Of Management OER Partnership Grant
The TMU Libraries and Ted Rogers School Of Management are pleased to announce a joint 2025 OER Partnership Grant to encourage the creation and adoption of open educational resources (OER) with a focus on business titles. OER are learning materials that are openly licensed such that they are freely available to be adapted, copied, and shared. OER can be: courses, modules, textbooks, multimedia, assessments, and supplementary materials.
This grant advances the University’s priorities to foster an innovation ecosystem and ensure excellence in student learning experiences, and builds on the University Library’s digital initiatives, expertise in Open Access and Open Education Resource publishing and dissemination, and academic priorities of access and openness. The Library is very pleased to collaborate with the Ted Rogers School of Management to fund a grant that creates an open educational textbook and accompanying ancillary teaching materials to support a high enrolment 100 or 200 level Ted Rogers course. This grant also was offered in 2020 and 2022.
A single $40,000 two-part grant that runs over two years will be available to the successful proposal. The deadline is Sept 30th, 2025 and more information about this grant and the application process can be found here.
2025 Teaching with OER Grant: A partnership between TMU Libraries and the CELT
TMU Libraries and the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) are pleased to announce a new joint Teaching with OER Grant to encourage the creation and adoption of open educational resources (OER). OER are learning materials that are openly licensed such that they are freely available to be adapted, copied, and shared. OER can be: courses, modules, textbooks, multimedia, assessments, and supplementary materials. The inclusion of OER in first year courses and large enrollment classes is a proactive step to address the burden of further rising textbook costs and will significantly improve access of TMU’s students to the required learning materials.
This grant advances the University’s priorities to foster an innovation ecosystem and ensure excellence in student learning experiences, and builds on TMU Libraries’ digital initiatives, expertise in Open Access and Open Education Resource publishing and dissemination, and academic priorities of access and openness.The grant will also be supported by CELT’s Digital Learning Team (DL) which will provide pedagogical / instructional design and multimedia production services.
A single $15,000 grant will be available to the successful proposal. The deadline is Sept 30th, 2025 and more information about this grant and the application process can be found here.
Past Grant Recipients
2024 Grant Recipients
Charlotte Lee, Nursing, Enhancing the Student-Preceptor Relationship: Improving Feedback Processes in Nursing Education Using Virtual Simulation
Kateryna Metersky, Nursing, Preparing Undergraduate Nursing Students of Licensing Examination Success: Redevelopment of Existing Nursing Theory OERs
Chris MacDonald, TRSM, Law and Business, Modernizing Wealth of Nations
Lee Eldridge, GCM, Pixel Perfect: Transforming Images with Photoshop
2023-2024 Grant Recipients
Jennifer Lapum, Nursing, Neurological Assessment for the Nursing Professional
Na Yu, Mathematics, Digital textbook for integral calculus
Enza Gucciardi, Nutrition, Anti-black Racism in Dietetic Practice
2022-2024 TRSM Partnership Grant Recipients
Steve Gedeon, TRSM, Entrepreneurship and Strategy Department for Building an Entrepreneurial Mindset
2022-2023 Grant Recipients
Chris MacDonald, TRSM, Law and Business for The Concise Encyclopedia of Business Ethics
Chris Gibbs, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management for Financial Management for Creatives
2020-2022 TRSM Partnership Grant Recipients
Anthony Francescucci, Department of Marketing, Ted Rogers School of Management for Principles of Marketing. Ancillary test bank materials will be made open in 2027.
2019-2020 Grant Recipients
Michael Carter, Creative Industries, for Into the Longhouse, Around the Medicine Wheel
Jennifer Lapum, Nursing, for Physical Examination Techniques: A Nurse’s Guide
Jacqui Gingras, Sociology, Critical and Indigenous Perspectives on the Sociology of Education in Canada
For more information on these projects, see the Library’s 2019-2020 OER Grant Recipients blog post.
2018-2019 Grant Recipients
Jennifer Lapum, Nursing, for Scholarly Writing in Nursing Education
Adrian Ma, Journalism, for 360 Essentials: A Beginner’s Guide to Immersive Video Storytelling
Gosha Zywno and Frankie Stewart, Electrical Engineering, for Introduction to Control Systems