A critical part of sustaining Open Educational Resources (OER) in higher education is recognizing the contributions by instructors who create and improve them as part of their professional work. DOERS has developed a series of tools to support the recognition of open education work in the tenure and promotion process.
DOERS Tenure and Promotion Matrix
In order to aid this effort, Driving OER Sustainability for Student Success (DOERS3) has developed an adaptable advisory model to help guide faculty as they attempt to include their OER work in their tenure and promotion portfolios. This model is in no way exhaustive and will likely be most useful as either a way for faculty to start thinking about how to best fit their OER work into their local T&P guidelines or as an OER adapted to those local concerns. Although this document in its current form was created with individual faculty in mind, we encourage T&P committees themselves to adapt and edit this document to use as guidance for their faculty.
We are aware that each T&P process is based on one’s local institution and its guidelines. Although individual institutions or departments may differ from this matrix in its categories, we have found that most variations of tenure and promotion guidelines can be adapted to teaching, research, and service.
While few institutions have recognized open educational practices as deliverables toward tenure and promotion, faculty, in documenting their OER work in their portfolios, should characterize their work using these terms to aid their colleagues in understanding their contribution.
For each contribution, we have suggested whether the contribution could apply to those three categories, and in some cases, we have marked multiple categories--which is most relevant will depend upon the context. In addition, the matrix includes examples of how faculty might think strategically about where their open education contributions would be valued most and how best to frame those contributions.
In 2023, the OER Contributions Matrix was translated into French by the Canadian Association of Research Libraries' Open Education Working Group task group on francophone OER, to encourage francophone and bilingual universities in Canada to start the conversation about making OER count for tenure and promotion.
In order to aid this effort, Driving OER Sustainability for Student Success (DOERS3) has developed an adaptable advisory model to help guide faculty as they attempt to include their OER work in their tenure and promotion portfolios. This model is in no way exhaustive and will likely be most useful as either a way for faculty to start thinking about how to best fit their OER work into their local T&P guidelines or as an OER adapted to those local concerns. Although this document in its current form was created with individual faculty in mind, we encourage T&P committees themselves to adapt and edit this document to use as guidance for their faculty.
We are aware that each T&P process is based on one’s local institution and its guidelines. Although individual institutions or departments may differ from this matrix in its categories, we have found that most variations of tenure and promotion guidelines can be adapted to teaching, research, and service.
While few institutions have recognized open educational practices as deliverables toward tenure and promotion, faculty, in documenting their OER work in their portfolios, should characterize their work using these terms to aid their colleagues in understanding their contribution.
For each contribution, we have suggested whether the contribution could apply to those three categories, and in some cases, we have marked multiple categories--which is most relevant will depend upon the context. In addition, the matrix includes examples of how faculty might think strategically about where their open education contributions would be valued most and how best to frame those contributions.
In 2023, the OER Contributions Matrix was translated into French by the Canadian Association of Research Libraries' Open Education Working Group task group on francophone OER, to encourage francophone and bilingual universities in Canada to start the conversation about making OER count for tenure and promotion.
The primary authors of this document are Amanda Coolidge, Andrew McKinney, and Deepak Shenoy. This document is licensed by DOERS3 under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License.
Download Copies of the OER Contributions Matrix
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DOERS Open Education in Tenure and Promotion Case Studies
The DOERS Collaborative, building on its previous work with the DOERS OER Contributions Matrix, funded 28 authors in 2024 for a book-length project centered around valuing open education work in the tenure, promotion, and reappointment process. These case studies written by faculty, staff, and administrators will detail their experiences trying to appropriately value OER and open educational work in that process.
A critical part of sustaining OER and open educational practices in higher education is recognizing the contributions by instructors who create and improve OER as part of their professional work. The OER community is very familiar with this issue and is hungry for examples for how others in the community are either navigating this process themselves or are assisting those who are. However, as the criteria for tenure and promotion can vary wildly between different types of institutions and even between different departments within an institution, answering questions about the role of OER in the tenure and promotion process can seem daunting. No “one size fits all” solution is going to solve the problem.
By collecting case studies from those who have experience, DOERS seeks to provide as many examples from as many types of institutions as possible so that those looking for answers to this problem can find solutions that speak to their particular issues. The goal of this project is to ultimately be the first stop for anyone asking, “How can I make open education work count toward the job security of myself and others?”
The DOERS Collaborative, building on its previous work with the DOERS OER Contributions Matrix, funded 28 authors in 2024 for a book-length project centered around valuing open education work in the tenure, promotion, and reappointment process. These case studies written by faculty, staff, and administrators will detail their experiences trying to appropriately value OER and open educational work in that process.
A critical part of sustaining OER and open educational practices in higher education is recognizing the contributions by instructors who create and improve OER as part of their professional work. The OER community is very familiar with this issue and is hungry for examples for how others in the community are either navigating this process themselves or are assisting those who are. However, as the criteria for tenure and promotion can vary wildly between different types of institutions and even between different departments within an institution, answering questions about the role of OER in the tenure and promotion process can seem daunting. No “one size fits all” solution is going to solve the problem.
By collecting case studies from those who have experience, DOERS seeks to provide as many examples from as many types of institutions as possible so that those looking for answers to this problem can find solutions that speak to their particular issues. The goal of this project is to ultimately be the first stop for anyone asking, “How can I make open education work count toward the job security of myself and others?”
Cover image for Valuing OER in the Tenure, Promotion, and Reappointment Process book
Valuing OER in the Tenure, Promotion, and Reappointment Process
Edited by Andrew McKinney
This book of case studies 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 the tenure, promotion, and reappointment process at their institutions.
Valuing OER in the Tenure, Promotion, and Reappointment Process Copyright © 2024 by Andrew McKinney is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
