Sliding Scale Announcement

Rebus, like many others in the field, has been reflecting on the current policy environment in the United States and Canada that may impact and add challenges to our Open Education efforts. We are witnessing shrinking budgets, layoffs, uncertainty around the longevity of programs, and a growing worry about how we can continue to show up and support ourselves, our colleagues, and our students. 

We are a community that prides itself on continuous learning and adapting to new challenges, but this can feel difficult in the current moment. Overwhelm may force us to tune out of projects we are interested in pursuing, or even when we can muster the resilience to keep working, decreasing financial support may limit how impactful our projects can be. Regardless of how you might be feeling, we reiterate a message from our February newsletter — you are not alone. 

As the Open Education Conference Board of Directors eloquently shared in their recent statement, “As the political environment changes day-by-day, our ability to connect, share, and learn from each other for the benefit of all grows more important than ever.” 

Regardless of how you might be feeling, we reiterate a message from our February newsletter — you are not alone. 

This message resonates with us deeply. Like the Open Education Conference, and the Rockwood Leadership Institute, we are committed to taking deliberate steps to make sure Rebus’ services remain accessible to everyone. We hope that these changes will reflect our commitment to supporting your growth as an open educator:

Accessible Learning Opportunities

We have revisited our paid program offerings and are introducing a sliding scale, including subsidized fees and full scholarships, for Certificate Programs valid through 2025. We hope that this allows you to prioritize upskilling and capacity building within your institutions, both of which are as important as ever now. Thank you to the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for their support to subsidize these opportunities.

Supplemental Materials Development Certificate

Our 6-week certificate course to help you design supportive learning materials that transform how students engage with content, both inside and outside the classroom. 

Sliding scale:

• Standard rate: $700 USD/ $850 CAD per seat
• Hewlett-subsidized rate: $350 USD/ $450 CAD per seat
• Solidarity (pay it forward) rate: Want to allocate resources for someone else to participate? We welcome contributions at any level to encourage participation in our programs. 
• Other tiers: If you find yourself unable to pay course registration fees, even on a sliding scale, we still have options for you. Please contact us to apply for these tiers.
  • Ally (pay what you can) rate: $80 USD/ $110 CAD per seat suggested.
  • Full fee waiver: 100% waivers, $0 per seat (need-based; limited spaces). We request that participants who receive a full fee waiver demonstrate their commitment to the certificate by:
    • Attending 2 (of 3) live sessions and 
    • Contributing one of the following artifacts for Rebus to reuse upon course completion:
      • 2 blog posts about the course 
      • 4 reflection journal entries (1 per week of the course) 
      • 1 presentation at a Rebus event, external conference, summit, or departmental meeting.

Register for this certificate course under the new sliding scale.

Open Publishing Projects Certificate

Our 12-month certificate course for OER creation teams to equip you with the tools you need to make great open educational resources. We offer a standard rate, subsidized rates, and even a limited number of need-based, 100% waivers. Please contact us to learn more and register.

Transparency principle

Our sliding scale model is an invitation to practice honest reflection on resource distribution. We ask that those with increased access to resources contribute more, enabling Rebus to make our training more accessible to those with fewer resources. This approach embodies our commitment to creating an equitable learning ecosystem. (This framing was inspired by the Rockwood Institute for Leadership and Equity Unbound). 

Upcoming Free Webinar Series

Community Engagement Commitment

We commit to staying engaged in the conversation around education policy in both the US and Canada, namely through our active participation in the Canadian Coalition for Advancing Learning, Open Education Association Development Project, and Driving OER Sustainability for Student Success. We also pledge to stay engaged in working groups, communities of practice, and other informal spaces that encourage critical reflection and learning.

Your Feedback Matters

If you are facing barriers to participating or have ideas on how Rebus can work to address challenges in our field, please respond to us via email to dialogue with us. We are committed to listening and finding solutions together.

Thank you for reading! We appreciate you and are grateful to be working in this field together.