1 OER and Promotion and Tenure
Despite the amount of time and effort that goes into adopting, adapting, creating OER, and otherwise engaging in open educational practices, this work does not always fit neatly into the promotion and tenure process. In an effort to acknowledge the contributions of faculty who engage in these practices to provide better learning experiences for their students, many advocacy organizations and institutions have been part of an evolving conversation about how best to map open educational practices to promotion and tenure guidelines. While VCU’s policy and your individual school or college should inform your promotion and tenure documentation, you may find some of these models and case studies helpful in framing your descriptions of your open education contributions.
Frameworks and Models
From advocacy organization Driving OER Sustainability for Student Success (DOERS3), this matrix aligns various common types of contributions involving open education practices (adopting, adapting, creating OER, improving learning, etc) to the categories of research, teaching, and service common in most promotion and tenure guidelines, along with suggestions for evidence to demonstrate the contribution.
- Making OER Count: Incorporating OER into the Tenure and Promotion Process– A presentation from members of DOERS3 that provides insight into the OER Contributions Matrix explains how it came about, and shares some potential uses for the document, including a short brainstorming session on how the matrix can be adapted for use at local institutions.
Advisory Model for Open Education in Promotion and Tenure Processes
Affordable Learning Georgia’s Advisory Model for Open Education in Promotion and Tenure Processes is intended to guide faculty as they attempt to include their work with OER in their tenure and promotion (T&P) portfolios. This model is not a mandate for changes in local T&P policies, but it can serve as a guide for T&P committees who wish to add open education-related work to their standards.
OER Contributions Matrix with Oregon Faculty Examples
An adaptation of the DOERS3 matrix, which includes local context and examples from T&P portfolios successfully submitted at Oregon’s public universities.
Faculty Case Studies
Valuing OER in the Tenure, Promotion, and Reappointment Process
This book of case studies compiled by DOERS3 is meant to aid faculty, librarians, administrators, and staff members as they attempt to make their work or others’ work on Open Educational Resources (OER) matter in their institutions’ tenure, promotion, and reappointment process.
Archived Webinar: Faculty Panel on OER in Promotion and Tenure
Christy VanRooyen, Program Director for the Environmental Science Program at Oregon Tech, facilitates a panel of Oregon faculty members who included their open education work in promotion and tenure dossiers. Panelists share their thoughts on successfully integrating open education into their promotion and tenure packages.
Using OER in Tenure Narratives: Conversations with Tenure Experts
Researchers at the University of Nebraska Omaha conducted 16 interviews with unit heads who have experience with mentoring and reviewing tenure-track faculty and, from these interviews, articulated a number of strategies for using OERs work in tenure packets.
