By Helen Moore
In the previous blog post we had an overview of Open Educational Resources (OER), what they are and why they’re useful. Before embarking on an OER project, whether you’re using other people’s or developing your own, it’s useful to understand the University’s position; in this post we’re looking at the steps the University has taken to become a leader in this area, encouraging staff to make the most of the opportunities afforded by OER. Sheffield was the first UK institution to join the Open Education Network and we sit on the Advisory Group for the UK and Ireland OER Community of Practice.
University policy
Senate approved an OER policy in December 2022 (see the Governance page for the full policy, under ‘Intellectual Property’), expressly linking the use of OER with criteria for the Academic Careers Pathway:
“The University supports and encourages the re-use, re-purposing and adaptation of existing OER to support teaching and learning, and also supports and encourages those who wish to create and share their own OER. This aligns with the ACP for Senior University Teachers, Senior Lecturers and Professors.”
Infrastructure
The University has expanded its range of tools and support over the last few years, largely delivered via the Library or developed by the OER Steering Group (more about this in the next post). This includes the following:
- guidance on finding OER, available via the Library’s page on using OER
- resources from the OER Steering Group describing some of the processes involved in creating your own OER, and the Library outlining the tools available
- a subscription to Pressbooks, an editing and authoring platform built on WordPress. This is used globally for OER that are mainly text-based, and it supports many interactive features (see other examples in the Pressbooks Directory). Contact oer@sheffield.ac.uk if you are interested in using it
- small amounts of funding to support you in one of the following areas of activity:
- identifying and reviewing an existing open textbook and using it as key module reading in place of a commercial textbook
- employing a student to identify and evaluate open educational resources which are relevant to their programme
- identifying an existing open textbook and adapting it to suit local (Sheffield or wider UK) curriculum needs, using the Sheffield Pressbooks Network or other appropriate open platform
- adapting your existing teaching material, or creating new material, and publishing it in the Sheffield Pressbooks Network or other open platform
Helen Moore is Faculty Librarian for Engineering and Science and helps to lead the University’s OER service. Helen co-chairs the University’s OER Steering Group, is a member of the LIBER Educational Resources Working Group, and sits on the advisory group for the UK and Ireland OER Community of Practice.
How does the University support Open Educational Resources (OER)? © 2026 by the University of Sheffield is licensed under Attribution 4.0 International, except where otherwise noted.