Open Educational Resources (Affordable Textbooks): WKU Affordable Textbook Program

Affordable Textbook Program

The WKU Libraries' Affordable Textbook Program awards individual faculty members incentive grants for transitioning to open educational resources (OER) or library licensed materials in place of traditional textbooks. The goal of the Affordable Textbook Initiative is to make course materials available at no or low cost to WKU students. 

Types of project funded

Adoption - locate existing OER or library licensed materials and write or adapt your syllabus to use them  

Adaptation - locate existing OER and combine or revise to create a new resource  

Creation - make an entirely new OER from scratch 

When completed, new and adapted works must meet the following requirements

Open access (assigned Creative Commons or another open license, or placed in the public domain)

Public with no cost barrier (posted online in TopSCHOLAR and/or another freely available location)

Accessible (e.g. alt text for images, captions and transcripts for audiovisual materials)

This years grant options include

Previous transition (new initiative!):  $100

If you have taught or are teaching a class (any semester 2020 -2025) that you transitioned to zero textbook cost send a copy of your syllabus and you will receive $100. Does not include classes that have previously been awarded grants.

Small Project:  $500-$1000

examples: write a test bank for existing OER, adopt a few chapters of an open textbook, convert lecture slides to open access

Medium Project: $2,000

examples: adopting an open textbook or library licensed materials, create homework assignments to supplement existing OER, create a lab manual or similar ancillary materials

Large Project :  $3,000-$5,000

examples: write an open textbook, creating a series of open access video lectures with transcripts and slides

Please contact Todd Seguin for more information or click here to apply for this years grant!