The CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) is pleased to announce that five faculty members have been awarded grants by the City University of New York (CUNY) Office of Library Services to develop and expand Open Educational Resources (OER) during the 2026-2027 academic year.
Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Jennifer Sparrow describes the grants as an important next step in the School’s OER evolution. “For nearly a decade, CUNY SPS faculty have embraced open educational resources to make our fully online courses more engaging, affordable, and accessible,” Sparrow said. “These grants mark an important next step in that work: expanding our role from OER adopters to OER creators and developing original content that can benefit students and educators across CUNY and beyond. I’m grateful to the CUNY Office of Library Services and New York State for supporting this initiative.”
Open Educational Resources (OER) are free, openly licensed, reusable, and adaptable instructional materials that are offered to help students save money on costly textbooks. Since 2018, CUNY has been awarded $4 million a year from New York State to establish, sustain, and enhance new and ongoing OER initiatives across the University system. The funding supplied by the OER Creation Awards enables faculty to redesign their courses and replace proprietary textbooks with customized open educational resources.
Sarah Kresh, a faculty development and instructional design manager in the Office of Faculty Development and Instructional Technology (OFDIT), coordinates the OER initiative at CUNY SPS. “The OER Creation Awards are an opportunity for full- and part-time faculty to have funding for making the kinds of revisions and customizations that openly licensed materials permit, making materials relevant to our specific students,” Kresh said. “They also fund faculty working on entirely original materials or developing co-creation projects with students.”
Under the terms of the OER Creation Award Grant, faculty may apply for one of three categories: Planning, Production, and Revision. Award amounts range from $3,000-$7,000 based on the proposed project and award category.
Below is a list of the 2026-2027 CUNY SPS OER Grant Recipients:
- Cassandra Evans, Disability Studies Programs: Non-Profit Grant Writing Full Textbook (OER Production Award)
- Virginia Gilroy, General Education Program: Business Communication for Success in the Age of AI, Full Textbook (OER Planning Award)
- Whitney Hollins, Youth Studies Programs: Supporting the Youth Mental Health Crisis: Trainings for Adult Allies (OER Production Award)
- Sonrisa Murray, Sociology and Human Relations Programs: Leading Through Turbulence: A Leadership Survival Guide for the Post-COVID Workplace (OER Planning Award)
- Jan Oosting, Nursing Programs: Interprofessional Perspectives in LGBTQIA+ Health Companion (OER Production Award)
Joining these recipients is Memory Ndanga, academic director of the CUNY SPS Health Information Management and Health Services Administration programs, who received a 2025-2026 OER Creation Award for her project, Interprofessional Education (IPE), for which she is creating learning modules that use a case-based approach to guide students through a patient's journey.
All OER projects, once completed, will be published in CUNY Pressbooks.
About the CUNY School of Professional Studies
As New York's leading online school since 2006, the CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) offers the most online bachelor's and master's degree options at the City University of New York, and serves as the University's first undergraduate all-transfer college. With over 26 degrees and numerous other non-degree and grant-funded workplace learning programs, CUNY SPS meets the needs of adults who wish to finish a bachelor's degree, progress from an associate's degree, earn a master's degree or certificate in a specialized field, and advance in the workplace or change careers. Consistently ranked highly by U.S. News & World Report for its online offerings, CUNY SPS has emerged as a nationwide leader in online education. The School's renowned and affordable online programs ensure that busy working adults may fulfill their educational goals on their own time and schedule.
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