Written by Claire Hay, Specialist, Teaching and Learning
UFV has been awarded the BCcampus Open Education Institutional Grant of $33,000 (one of 3 selected projects). The grant will help fund the development of UFV’s Open Education Strategy including a Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) program. The funds from BCcampus will support an Open Education Strategist position (internal, temporary 0.4FTE academic support faculty for Fall 2025 and Winter 2026) and an Open Education Student Assistant. UFV is also contributing funds towards a third round of the previously established Open Education Micro Grant Program, an additional Open Education Student Assistant, and a ZTC Monograph fund through the Library. This work is a collaboration between UFV Library (Janelle Sztuhar & Martin Warkentin) and Teaching and Learning (Claire Hay).
“We are deeply grateful to BCcampus for their continued support and investment in open education. These grants empower educators and institutions to create accessible, inclusive, and culturally responsive learning resources that reflect the diverse needs of our students. This important work aligns with our shared commitment to equity and reconciliation in post-secondary education.”
— Camille Callison, University Librarian, University of the Fraser Valley
Call for Proposals: Open Education Micro Grant Program 2025-2026 (OEMGP)
The UFV Library and Teaching and Learning Centre are pleased to announce a Call for Proposals for the Open Education Micro Grant Program (OEMGP). This program is funded by UFV’s Office of the Provost and Vice President, Academic. OEMGP provides faculty with funds to hire an Open Education Student Assistant who will help with the creation or revision of open educational resources (OER) to support student learning. Examples of OERs include textbooks, lab manuals, case studies, class activities, or quiz banks. Funding to cover 8 projects (120hrs each in student funding) is available. The period for funding support is September 1, 2025, to February 28, 2026.
One project from each of the following areas will be funded:
- Faculty of Humanities,
- Faculty of Social Sciences,
- Faculty of Applied and Technical Studies,
- Faculty of Education, Community, and Human Development,
- Faculty of Health Sciences,
- Faculty of Professional Studies,
- Faculty of Science,
- NEW: A non-academic department (e.g. Academic Success Centre, Centre for Experiential and Career Education, Academic Advising, Indigenous Student Centre, Student Rights and Responsibilities Office)
Visit the OEMGP program page for more information and the application form. Proposals open on May 1, 2025, and will be accepted until June 13, 2025, with successful applications announced in mid August 2025.
For more information, join us virtually for the OEMGP Info Session on May 12th from 11am-12pm. Email openeducation@ufv.ca for the link.
Adjudicators wanted: The OEMG program is also looking for adjudicators to assess applications to the program. If you are interested in open education practices but don’t have a proposal in mind, consider being an adjudicator. Please drop an email to the address below.
For more information, please contact:
Open Education Team (Janelle Sztuhar and Claire Hay) openeducation@ufv.ca
- For more information on this successful project and others funded in this BCcampus blog post, read more here.
- For more information on open education at UFV, please check out this video.