Affordable Learning at CSUMB is a resource for faculty interested in using no- or low-cost digital content including open educational resources (OER), library materials, and bookstore solutions in their courses instead of costly commercially published textbooks. Support is available from the CSUMB Center for Academic Technologies (CAT) and the CSUMB library to help faculty choose and design high-quality learning materials. Contact affordable_learning@csumb.edu for help getting started.
For more on Affordable Learning, visit the CSU Affordable Learning Solutions website.
Benefits for Faculty:
Benefits for Students:
In their 2021 report, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Links to an external site. stated that 65% of students do not buy required textbooks and that food-insecure students were more likely than their peers to skip buying access codes to digital course materials.
Benefits to students include:
San Francisco State University's Affordable Instructional Materials (AIM) program interviewed faculty to get their perspective and experience using affordable materials in their courses. Take a moment to watch the video below to see highlights of the faculty feedback.
Supporting affordable learning efforts at CSUMB can encompass a lot more than finding a free textbook or articles. You might be surprised and the variety of strategies available to you to help support students make informed financial decisions and have a rich learning experience.
It can be easy to assume that supporting affordable learning translates to revamping your entire course or changing your textbook completely. While these changes can be an excellent choice, there are a number of other cost-saving strategies available that don't require making any changes to your current course materials, including:
The Kansas State University Open/Alternative Textbook Initiative provides grants to faculty members to replace textbooks with open/alternative educational resources that are available at no cost to students. These resources include e-books, problem-sets, video-based and interactive content and other formats that are created, adapted, or adopted by the faculty members.
AL$ Committee Faculty Adviser/AL$ Champion: Funding amount: $3,000
Serve as a faculty representative to advise the AL$ Committee, including monthly committee meetings and email correspondence. Promote affordable learning across campus and consult with colleges, departments, and faculty on the adoption of reduced-cost course materials with a minimum target of 30% student cost reduction. Serve as a coordinator to identify faculty interest and enrollment in Affordable Learning Initiative training and AL$ grant funded activities. Assist in processing documentation for AL$ grant reimbursements.
Also serve as an AL$ Champion to work with faculty across campus to reduce the cost of instructional materials (usually textbooks) by at least thirty percent. Faculty in this role will identify the faculty willing to participate, assist in the identification and implementation of lower cost materials, coordinate the creation of Faculty Adopter showcases, and assist in the payment voucher documentation processes for participants.
AL$ Adopter: Funding amount: $500 per instructor per course.
Faculty must identify and adopt lower or zero cost materials to replace an existing textbook or other materials for a minimum cost reduction of thirty percent. Funds are available on a per-course basis. Faculty will submit a showcase documenting their adoption(s), cost reduction, and payment voucher documents to satisfy the grant.
AL$ Training Course Participant: Funding amount: $300
Faculty must successfully complete the Introduction to Affordable Learning Solutions course (including all assessments, activities, and assignments) and submit payment voucher documents to satisfy the grant.
To participate in the current faculty AL$ opportunities, please complete this interest form.
Contact affordable_learning@csumb.edu for any questions.
Check out these other free resources below:
Pressbooks is online software that enables authors and publishers to design and format any kind of book.
Free PowerPoint Templates This link will take you to an external website in a new tab.
Course Reserves
The CSUMB Library purchases print copies for course reserve of all identified textbooks priced over $100 and for all high-DFW courses. To inquire about placing a textbook on course reserve, contact your librarian subject selector(s).
OneSearch
You can also search the CSUMB Library's OneSearch discovery tool to find and curate a suite of library-owned electronic materials for your course, which may include ebooks in whole or part, journal and encyclopedia articles, streaming video, and more. Your librarian subject selector(s) are available to assist you.
Visit the Campus Store's website for information on lower-cost bookstore solutions, including rentals. The bookstore's adoption tool can help instructors discover low- and no-cost options for courses, including OER.
→Clinton, V., & Khan, S. (2019). Efficacy of open textbook adoption on learning performance and course withdrawal rates: A meta-analysis. AERA Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858419872212
→Cozart, Deanna, et al. “Rethinking the Traditional Textbook: A Case for Open Educational Resources (OER) and No-Cost Learning Materials.” Teaching and Learning Inquiry, vol. 9, no. 2, 2021, pp. 1–17, https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.9.2.13.
→Griffiths, R., Mislevy, J., Wang, S., Ball, A., Shear, L., & Desrochers, D. (2020). OER at scale: The academic and economic outcomes of achieving the Dream’s OER Degree Initiative. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International. (download report | watch video)
→Hilton, J. (2016). Open educational resources and college textbook choices: A review of research on efficacy and perceptions. Educational Technology Research and Development, 64(4), 573-590.
→Saving Students Thousands with Open Access Textbook. (2022, January 3). States News Service, NA. https://link-gale-com.csumb.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A689267564/AONE?u=csumb_main&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=997510cd
→Scott, Rachel E., and Anne Shelley. “‘Having a Textbook Locks Me into a Particular Narrative’: Affordable and Open Educational Resources in Music Higher Education.” Notes (Music Library Association), vol. 79, no. 3, 2023, pp. 303–34, https://doi.org/10.1353/not.2023.0000.
→Want to Make College More Affordable for your students? (2020, November 18). States News Service, NA. https://link-gale-com.csumb.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A642140169/AONE?u=csumb_main&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=71d66d9d
Search for courses using low- or no-cost learning materials at California community colleges, and CSU and UC campuses. Find courses by discipline and Common ID Number.
