AMS Announces Call for 2025 Nominations for OER Champions and the NEW UDL Champions!
The Alma Mater Society (AMS) is excited to introduce the new Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Champions Award, in addition to the annual Open Educational Resources (OER) Champions Award. The nomination form is now available for UBC students and community members to celebrate faculty, staff, and administrators who dedicate their efforts to promoting accessible, equitable, and affordable education through UDL methods and OER.
UDL is an approach that recognizes learner diversity and reduces barriers to education, so all students have the opportunity to succeed. At UBC, efforts to incorporate UDL principles have expanded because of how much it benefits students, with the UDL Fellows Program and UBC’s Universal Design for Learning Hub, aiming to make learning more inclusive and accessible for all students. Though UDL may look like many things such as hybrid (in-person and online) delivery of learning materials, diverse course content perspectives, re-weighting assignments, providing captioning for videos, etc., all UDL examples are common in the proactive inclusivity in learning environments.
OERs are teaching, learning, and research resources that are free of cost and access barriers, and which also carry legal permission for open use. According to the Academic Experience Survey 2024, more than 1 in 4 students reported financial hardships related to textbooks and course materials. This underscores the importance of adopting OER to alleviate financial burdens. While OERs may look different, they are common in being freely available resources that reside in the public domain permitting their free use and re-purposing by others.
To honor the dedication of faculty members advancing UDL and OER, the AMS hosts an annual gala recognizing those who have gone above and beyond in advancing accessible, equitable, and affordable education at UBC.
Do you know someone who has made a meaningful impact on education at UBC through their work with UDL or OER?
Show your appreciation by nominating them today!
By submitting a nomination, you’re not only acknowledging their efforts but also helping to highlight the importance of inclusive and affordable learning. Don’t miss this opportunity—submit your nominations before Wednesday, March 26 and help us recognize the individuals shaping a more accessible and affordable future at UBC.
Zarifa Nawar
Vice President, Academic and University Affairs
Alma Mater Society
