{"id":1806,"date":"2020-12-14T09:47:48","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T15:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/library\/?p=1806"},"modified":"2021-04-30T08:45:55","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T13:45:55","slug":"announcing-the-acu-alternative-textbook-initiative-academic-year-2021-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/library\/2020\/12\/14\/announcing-the-acu-alternative-textbook-initiative-academic-year-2021-22\/","title":{"rendered":"Announcing the ACU Alternative Textbook Initiative Academic Year 2021-22"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Application form closed.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Goal<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

To support ACU faculty in their efforts to replace traditional commercial textbooks with academically equivalent alternatives that are available at zero cost to students.<\/span><\/p>\n

Project Overview<\/b><\/h3>\n

The university\u2019s leadership and the Brown library staff share a concern about textbook affordability and its impact on student success while recognizing that it is the prerogative of faculty to select the course materials that are most appropriate for a class. Through this grant for courses offered in Fall 2021 or Spring 2022, the library is supporting selected faculty to identify and utilize no-cost options for textbooks, including open access textbooks, as long as there is no reduction in the quality of the course. The cost of college textbooks is often a major affordability issue for students, who take on additional loan debt to pay for textbooks or undercut their own learning by forgoing the purchase of textbooks. Open access textbooks* can offer an affordable, comparable, and potentially a superior alternative to commercial textbooks. Faculty may also develop syllabi that fully utilize instructional material that is licensed institutionally by the library, resulting in no additional costs for students.<\/span><\/p>\n

*Definition of Open Access Textbook: Textbooks that are digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Selection Criteria<\/b><\/h3>\n

Proposals will be reviewed by the Scholarly Communications Librarian and representatives from the Brown Library. The deadline to submit the proposal is <\/span>April 15, 2021,<\/i><\/b> and notification of awards will be made by <\/span>April 30, 2021<\/i><\/b>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Three <\/span>$2000<\/b> grants will be awarded on the basis of:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Purpose: <\/b>Proposals must plan to replace all course materials with an open access textbook or a licensed electronic book or books within the ACU library for at least one class.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Quality:<\/b> Instructor\u2019s relative confidence in the precision and pedagogy of the alternative textbook(s).<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Efficiency: <\/b>Potential financial savings to ACU students.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Scope of Audience<\/b>: Number of ACU students impacted.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Sustainability:<\/b> Ability and intention to utilize the new textbook(s) in the applicant\u2019s future courses.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Scalability<\/b>: Potential applicability to sections of the course taught by other faculty.<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Timeliness:<\/b> Ability to be implemented by Spring Semester 2022.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Each $2000 grant will be awarded in three installments. The first award ($1000) will be granted during Summer 2021 to support the additional work needed to re-tool the course\u2019s syllabus. The second and third grants will be awarded upon the completion of up to two semesters ($500 per semester) using the alternative textbook(s) selected for the class. Note that the maximum award for this project is $2000; if the grant winner uses the alternative textbook for only one semester the total award will be $1500.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Projects Not Eligible<\/b>
    \n<\/b><\/h3>\n