Background
Students are invited to apply for full Academic Year (i.e. fall and spring semester, on-campus) Open Education fellowships with the Lafayette Libraries.
Fellows will work on projects that enhance or promote the work and values of Open Education on campus or beyond. Open Education can briefly be summarized as a move towards making educational materials (including, but not limited to course textbooks) freely available and fully accessible for all students. For more detailed information please read SPARC’s page describing Open Education.
Project Examples
Fellows will have the chance to tailor projects to their interests, but potential projects may include:
- Event planning: putting together programming for Open Education Week or organizing guest speakers to educate the campus about textbook affordability issues
- Promotion/outreach: bringing attention to issues of course affordability and bolstering participation in the Libraries’ Course Affordability Initiative
- Data analysis: quantifying the impact of the Course Affordability Initiative
While we are open to projects concerning all types of topics and interests, we prioritize projects that center Open Education as a means to empower student advocacy and/or advance goals of social justice.
More information
- Fellowships will last a full academic year – fellows will begin in the Fall semester and continue through the end of Spring semester.
- Fellows are expected to be on-campus for both the Fall and Spring semester.
- Students are expected to work approximately 2-3 hours per week throughout the course of the fellowship – for a total of 60-90 hours.
- Each fellow will receive a stipend in the amount of $2,500 for a full academic-year fellowship ($1,250 paid at the beginning of each semester).
- Students will be expected to publish any materials created as part of their project under a Creative Commons license – Creative Commons training will be provided as part of the fellowship.
Application process
Students interested in applying for a fellowship should first contact Ben Jahre, Head of Electronic Resources, to discuss their interests and project idea(s).
Applications will be accepted from March 22 through May 17. Fellows will be notified of their acceptance by July 1, 2024 and will be expected to begin work at the beginning of the 2024 Fall semester.
After discussing their project, students should submit an application (via email to the Head of Electronic Resources) that includes the following:
- Name, pronouns, and year
- Disciplinary Area(s)
- A resume highlighting relevant experience
- A personal statement (500 words maximum) addressing the following:
- Why the student is interested in the fellowship, including any specifics about the student’s interest in and/or experience with:
- Open Education
- Affordability issues
- Social justice
- Student advocacy
- A description of the project or the type of work the student is interested in pursuing. Include details of how the project would further the goals of Open Education and how it can have a positive impact on Lafayette students, the college as a whole, or the broader academic community
- How the fellowship would advance the student’s future academic or career goals