So many faculty (see Zero-/Low-Cost Courses at ASU tab of this guide for details) are already working to save our students money by using resources the campus and library already provide. This includes swapping expensive textbooks for journal articles (library's subscriptions or freely available via Open Access sources), using part or all of books in the library's collections, assigning readings from library eBooks, etc. Affordability is also accomplished by faculty using the Library's eReserves platform linked through Blackboard & LibApps.
Replace your high-cost textbook(s) with openly-licensed material -- material which can include more media/formats to increase engagement, and which don't cost students extra! Reach out to Amanda Langdon, OER Librarian, for support in finding the right material for your course. Use the Locating Open Resources tab on this guide to search for materials, and the rubrics below to evaluate quality and appropriateness for your needs. Reach out to AITC for integration of chosen materials into Blackboard. AITC can also provide information about available stipends for adoption of Open Content!
If you've found an Openly-Licensed work that you mostly like, but which doesn't quite match all of your needs, you can adapt it, under Creative Commons Licensing permissions. Rearrange content to suit the flow of your course; modify information to meet the demographic, ethnic, socio-economic, or other needs of your class; or mix-and-match various open works into a single piece for your course! [Licensing restrictions may apply, but OER Librarian Amanda Langdon can help you with navigating those questions. Call 719-587-7173 or email ANLangdon@adams.edu. Also, see the "Licensing & Attribution" tab of this Research Guide for more information & some great infographics on mixing content!]
Create new content and make it available through an Open License. This can help meet "publish or perish" needs of faculty, and the peer-review process maintains traditional standards of quality. Grants are available to fund your endeavor to write, edit, curate, or otherwise maintain Open source material on subjects that are important to you. Talk to AITC for information about stipends that are available to compensate you for your worthy efforts!
See the Licensing & Attribution tab of this guide for more information about Creative Commons Licenses and remixing content.
