Virginia Open Educational Resource (OER) Impact Award

The SCHEV Open Virginia Advisory Committee (OVAC) second annual Virginia Open Educational Resource (OER) Impact Award recognizes outstanding OER in Higher Education that have had a significant impact in Virginia classrooms.

Nominated OER are evaluated based on the following criteria: 

• Virginia impact (such as: student success metrics, cost avoidance, classroom adoption, etc.) 
• Innovative pedagogical approaches leading to active and inclusive learning
• Contributions to Open Education by addressing a need or gap in the pre-existing literature
• Digital accessibility (WCAG 2.x AA compliant) 

Creators of selected OER are recognized formally online, via press release, and at an awards ceremony. Awardees also receive a $2,000 honorarium, funded by VIVA, Virginia’s academic library consortium.  

Eligibility: 

• Editions of OER that have already received the Virginia OER Impact Award are not eligible to win again.
• All other submissions—including editions previously nominated—are welcome!

Award Nominations (including self-nominations) are made via form. Following submission, SCHEV OVAC reviews and selects three OER to recognize. 
 
Creators of awarded projects are expected to present their resources at an OVAC/VIVA sponsored event in Fall 2026. 
 
For more information about this award, please email Liz Thompson.
 
Application deadline: 3/20/2026
Notifications: 5/01/2026

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