Affordable course materials, including open educational resources, eBooks through the library, and some digital resources, have been shown to increase the diversity of materials in the classroom, allowing more of our students to see themselves in their classes. These affordable materials also make courses more accessible for students by removing the cost barrier of textbooks, which allows students to access their materials without additional stress. When more students have access to the course materials and are able to relate to the materials, there is an improvement in students’ understanding of content, students’ participation, and use of the materials outside the classroom.
The purpose of this award is to recognize those instructors that utilize affordable course materials in at least one class at Duquesne and demonstrate how those materials impacted their teaching and their students’ learning and engagement. These open materials can include, but are not limited to, textbooks, lesson plans, simulations, and videos, and can be accessed through any university or repository.
Eligible nominees include all faculty, full-time and adjunct, tenured and non-tenure track, who have used an open course material in at least one course at Duquesne University.
Nominees for the award are asked to fill out a Qualtrics application providing information on the open course material they used, how this material was incorporated into their course, how the use of the material informed their teaching, what impact the course material had on their students, and how these materials contribute to the university's mission.
The 2025 Open Education Teaching Award application can be accessed here: OETA Application 2025 (Requires you sign in to your DUQ Multipass)
The following rubric will be given to a voting committee of University faculty members to assist them in their selection of the winner.
Application Opens: January 13, 2025
Application Deadline: February 21, 2025
Committee Decision Deadline: March 7, 2025
Award Ceremony: TBD
The Open Education Teaching Award will be presented during the Celebration of Teaching Excellence. The recipient of the Open Education Teaching Award will receive recognition during the ceremony and $500.
For more information on the ceremony, you can visit the Duquesne Center for Teaching Excellence's Event Page
The following example images all link to open course materials hosted in various repositories.
