Supporting Students: OER and Textbook Affordability Initiatives at a Mid-Sized University

In 2018 the Alabama Commission on Higher Education kicked off a statewide program to increase awareness and adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) at colleges and universities. Spurred by the efforts of ACHE, the University of North Alabama committed to OER and textbook affordability programs and included OER adoption as a key aspiration in their 2019-2024 strategic plan Roaring with Excellence . With support from the president and provost of the university, Collier Library adopted strategic purchasing initiatives, including database purchases to support specific courses as well as purchasing reserve copies of textbooks for high-enrollment, required classes. In addition, the scholarly communications librarian became a founding member of the OER workgroup on campus. This group’s mission is to direct efforts for increasing faculty awareness and adoption of OER. This presentation will discuss the structure of the each of these programs from initial idea to implementation. Included will be discussions of assessment of faculty and student awareness, development of an OER grant program, starting a textbook purchasing program, promotion of efforts, funding, and future goals.https://ir.una.edu/libfacpresentation/1044/thumbnail.jp