A Skillman Library initiative has saved students up to $200,000 in costs through grants to reduce course material prices.
“The library sees the cost of a college education as a social justice issue,” wrote Ben Jahre, the spearhead of the initiative and a library staff member, in an email. “We were looking for ways the Library could support students who might otherwise struggle to pay for college once they arrive on campus.”
The Skillman Library Course Affordability Initiative aims to reduce out-of-pocket costs for students by promoting the adoption and creation of free teaching and learning resources, according to Rebecca McCall, a co-leader of the initiative.
Led by research and instruction librarians McCall and Courtney Dalton, the program provides faculty grants to aid in the discovery of these materials, called “Open Education Resources” or OERs.
These learning materials can be used or reused free of charge without requesting permission from the creator, according to the database that oversees the free materials.
“That’s money that goes back to the students’ pockets instead of being spent on material for class,” McCall wrote.
There are two types of grants that the initiative provides to applying faculty: investigation grants of $300, which assist faculty in researching and investigating material, and implementation grants of $1,000, which are provided to help fully transition resources to become low-cost or free for students of a course, according to Dalton.
Over 20 faculty members have received grants from the initiative, according to the library’s website.
McCall wrote that the initiative savings are calculated by several factors, including the number of students in a course, the number of course sections and how often the course is offered.
The initiative was founded in 2018 by Jahre, following an affordability initiative spearheaded by the college’s previous president, Alison Byerly.
Mathematics professor Justin Corvino, who received an implementation grant, called the program a “splendid idea” as more traditional textbooks often contain topics that wouldn’t be covered in the course.
Economics professor Christopher Ruebeck also received an implementation grant for his introduction to economics course.
He called the initiative a “laudable goal,” but questioned whether it may erode faculty access to resources that can help them teach more efficiently, such as presentation slides, test banks and teaching guides.
“It’s been heartening to see the interest in this milestone from faculty and students alike,” McCall wrote. “We are excited to start building relationships with those faculty member who apply and show interest in pursuing OERs for their courses.”
