How to create Affordable Learning Materials on your campus.

CALMing the cost of textbooks:

Cougars

Affordable

Learning

Materials

Started in Spring 2013 with funding from CSU Chancellor’s Office

• Sponsor - Bill Ward, Associate Dean, IITS• Natalie Wilson, Faculty Fellow • 3 Instructional Designers

Summer 2013• Researched other CSUs efforts • Developed branding –logo, posters• Built website – lots of resources:

http://www.csusm.edu/ids/calm/index.html • Developed a communications plan• Pilot -CALMed Natalie’s courses

Getting started...

Bill Ward met with Deans and Department ChairsSept/October –Developers introduce CALM & Faculty call at department meetings Customized presentations -examples of OER/library sourcesIncreased awareness and comfort levelStarted a conversation amongst the facultyLeft flyers and emailed to lecturersTwo informational meetings before led by Faculty FellowPersonal contactProposed resolution to Academic SenateStudent Posters

Developing the team

Seed Money

Image via Flickr user kalexanderson: https://flic.kr/p/aah9wX

Partnerships on campus

• Bookstore• Provides a booklist that faculty have submitted• Provided the top 10 most expensive books • Purchase used custom books if instructors guarantee to use for 2 academic years

• Faculty Center• Promotes on website & newsletter

• Academic Senate• Resolution to support CALM

• Colleges/departments• Custom Presentations

• Student groups• Met with Associated Students Inc.

Partnerships on campus

• IITS/Library• High speed scanner• CALM committee• Encourage assignments for students researching journals• Copyright workshops for faculty• Additional support for library reserves

• Accessibility Specialists (ADA)• Faculty Training• Scanning of material

• Institutional Planning & Analysis• Added questions to student evaluations

Partnerships - Publishers

• Custom books• chapters

• Rent digital• save 60% or more off the price of a new print textbook

• Negotiate!• Contact your book representative

• Tell them the price you and your students are willing to accept

• eBook access with print version• integrate into LMS

Fully utilize all reserves capability.Bookstore list: http://biblio.csusm.edu/calm_library_ebooks/ CALM is bringing more students into the library!

Copyright workshops as well as “authors rights” workshopsConsulting one-on-one with faculty re: copyright, fair use, OACampus Open Access resolution and policyhttp://biblio.csusm.edu/guides/subject-guide/195-Scholarly-Communication/?tab=2601

Ongoing outreach

• Create a community of practitioners – ongoing

• Use faculty to help recruit – Faculty Ambassador program (5)

• Student poster

• Recognition ceremony with campus mucky-mucks

• CALM Heroes

• Go to department meetings

Student Feedback

The survey results (n=382) indicated that:• 80% felt the course materials were more, or much more affordable compared to other classes• 91% of the students felt the free resources were easy to access • 88% of the students felt the free resources were of high quality • 84% recommended the instructor use these materials again

Student Quotes

Textbook prices have been a huge issue for me. As a student who is always tight on money, I am often forced to download an

illegal digital copy if I cannot find a cheaper option. When I am registering for classes, I prioritize textbook prices over my interest

in the course.

I don’t want to give up on my studies and my degree goals, and if professors could choose the best materials at the lowest cost

possible, that would really help low income students like myself.

In the past I had to rely on my professors to put the required textbooks on reserve in the library, and from there it was a rat race to

see who would get there first. I spent countless hours in the library waiting around for my turn. When it finally was my turn, it

seemed like I had the book for a second before I had to give it up.

Wrap up

• How many courses calmed? • 40

• How many faculty participated?• 32 (18 brought cost to $0)

• GEO 102 (40 sections) reduced cost by 50%

• School of Education Single Subjects Credential Program lowered the total cost for eight required courses to $180

• How much money saved?

support!

• Carmen Mitchell, Institutional Repository Librarian, cmitchell@csusm.edu

• Barbara Taylor, Lead Instructional Developer, Academic Technology Services, btaylor@csusm.edu

QUESTIONS?