Textbook Affordability Summer Symposium 2024

CSU Faculty: Apply for the 2024 CSU Textbook Affordability Summer Symposium
- deadline extended to April 19th! -

• Are you interested in exploring options for reducing the cost of textbooks in one of your courses? 
• Are you looking to revitalize the materials in one of your upcoming courses? 
• Do you want to increase the ease of access to your course materials, but you’re unsure where to start? 
• Do you want to learn more about open education or open textbooks? 
• Are you seeking structured support for integrating low- or no-cost materials into one of your upcoming courses?  

If you answered yes to any of these questions, CSU’s Textbook Affordability Summer Symposium might be just what you need!  

Textbook Affordability Summer Symposium 

• What: A learning community with hosted asynchronous workshops over 3 weeks providing methods and materials to support faculty in reviewing openly-licensed or other affordable course content.

• When: May 20th – June 7th; asynchronous; 6 – 10  hours of work.

• Where: Blackboard  

• Who: All full-time or part-time CSU faculty are welcome to apply.
  Teams of faculty, faculty teaching high enrollment or gateway courses, faculty who are proposing courses for the new Core
  and/or those planning to teach courses within any of the new Integrated Majors are especially encouraged to participate.

• Incentive: A $600 stipend, disbursed in two parts, for completing the symposium.

• Why: low- or no-cost course materials support student learning and persistence. 

To apply:
Fill out our application form by April 19th, 2024.  

Applications will be reviewed and acceptance communicated to participants by the end of the month.  

For more information, email Heather Caprette or Emilie Zickel, co-chairs of the CSU Open Educational Resources Committee  

We look forward to advocating for affordable learning with you!  

How does the program work?  

Step One: By April 10th, complete and submit your application form and submit the syllabus for the course in which you are interested in using an OER.  

Step Two: If you are selected to participate, CSU Librarians will review your syllabus and map suggested openly-licensed, affordable, or library-licensed content to syllabus topics.   

Step Three: From May 20th – June 7th, participants will engage in the Textbook Affordability Summer Symposium on Blackboard/Zoom. Participants will explore the basics of open education, review an open access or low cost resource, learn how to align course content with learning outcomes, and reflect on advocating for affordable or open access course materials in the future. There are four modules of content, each of which should take 1.5-3 hours to complete.  

As part of the symposium, each participant will:  

• Meet one-on-one for a single Zoom meeting with one of the symposium instructors  

• Review at least one openly-licensed, library-licensed, or low-cost resource in their discipline (preferably one found in the Open Textbook Library) by June 7th, 2024. 

• Create a curriculum map to align the open access or low cost resource to their course  

• Write a short report outlining how they will take action to implement the use of the openly licensed content across all sections/semesters of the course in their department   

Step Four: After the training, each participant will:  

• Use at least one openly-licensed, library-licensed, or low-cost resource (required or optional) in a course they are teaching in Fall 2024 or Spring 2025 OR create and use openly licensed ancillary materials (e.g., quiz questions, PowerPoint slides, etc.) for a course they are teaching in Fall 2024 or Spring 2025 
• Speak at a future open textbook workshop or talk offered by the Center for Faculty Excellence, Michael Schwartz Library, or other institution, if approved.  

Each participant will receive a $600 stipend for participating in the symposium.   

The following applicants will receive special consideration:   

• Multiple faculty teaching the same course  

• Faculty teaching high enrollment courses or gateway courses   

• Faculty who are proposing courses for the new Core and/or those planning to teach courses within any of the new Integrated Majors 

Faculty who have already received a Textbook Affordability Grant or participated in a previous Textbook Affordability Summer Symposium will not be eligible to participate, but participants in the Summer Symposium are eligible and encouraged to apply for future Textbook Affordability grants. 

Apply Today!