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Affordable Learning Materials Initiative (ALMI)

Initiative to make course materials more affordable for MSMU students

About ALMI - $500 Stipend For Instructors Available


"Students can't learn from textbooks they can't afford."

 -- Nicole Allen, SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition)

 

Did you know...?

  • From 2006-2016, prices for college textbooks rose 88%, compared to 21% for all items (Bureau of Labor Statistics).  And the price of college textbooks increased by 7% between 2020 and 2023 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023)
  • Two-thirds (66%) of students continue to skip buying assigned textbooks because of the price was too high and 1 in 5 students skip buying access codes necessary to complete assignments (PIRG 2020)
  • 1 in 2 students say they have at some point taken fewer courses due to the cost of textbooks (Florida Virtual Campus survey)

Affordable Learning Materials Initiative (ALMI)


ALMI began as a collaboration between the MSMU Libraries and the Instructional Design Team to improve students' academic success, retention, and time-to-degree by reducing the cost of textbooks and other required course materials. 

Instructors are invited to apply for a $500* one-time stipend to transition a course from expensive course materials to low- or no-cost materials. The quantity and quality of peer-reviewed open educational resources and electronic library materials have expanded greatly in recent years.  Some open books may contain content that mirrors expensive textbooks so we encourage using  these resources to provide a better (more affordable) learning experience for our students.  Here are some examples of past courses..

We select 1 course per term. A librarian assists faculty awardee with identifying, selecting, acquiring, and integrating materials that are open, low-cost and/or licensed by the library. Instructional designers assist as needed.  After the implementation term, faculty follow up by completing a brief form (see below) that allows us  to measure their satisfaction with the materials and student learning as well as to see if any revisions need to be made. There is no obligation to continue to use the materials after the initial term. Yet, we hope you will be pleased by your students' learning experiences with low-cost / zero-cost textbooks!

Stipends will be awarded following the library's receipt of your ALMI Faculty Report (linked below), which provides us with necessary narrative information about your experience with affordable learning implementation.  Please email the ALMI Faculty Report to us promptly!

Satisfied ALMI stipend awardees are encouraged to work with other faculty members who are teaching the same course in subsequent semesters.  We believe that low cost learning does not end with a single semester and are grateful for our Affordable Learning Champions!

We are currently accepting applications for Summer 2025 and Fall 2025.  Feel free to submit applications for semesters even further in the future!

Scroll down for the application form

Course Implementation Prep Work Notification Date Application Deadline
Fall 2024 Summer 2024 May 15, 2024 May 1, 2024
Spring 2025 Fall 2024 / Intercession October 15, 2024 October 1, 2024
Summer 2025 Spring 2025 February 15, 2025 February 1, 2025
Fall 2025 Summer 2025 May 15, 2025 May 1, 2025

Questions?

Contact Samantha, Electronic Resources Librarian or Danielle, Assistant Vice President of Strategic Initiatives

* Stipends are considered income, so Federal/State taxes apply.

Course Reserves

Faculty and Students may also request that e-books be purchased by the library for perpetual access.  See what your colleagues have included in course reserves below:

How to Include Affordable Materials in Your Courses

Some suggestions for making your course materials equitable and affordable:

  • Adopt an Open Stax (or other open access) textbook and integrate it into Canvas
  • Adopt and Remix a Libretext book and integrate it into Canvas
  • Adopt eBooks and eArticles in the Libraries' collection and integrate them into Canvas
  • Develop a private course guide with resources that can be shared with students
  • Develop a public course guide with links to library materials and open access copies or library-purchased e-copies of class readings

Testimonials from Students

". . .The layout of the course has allowed me to better understand topics in microeconomics; as well as, develop an interest in continuing to learn about economics."

"It was helpful having the free online version of the text book. . ."

"The material was straightforward and there were no surprises. I like being able to see everything laid out in a simple and easy way to follow in the course modules."

"I appreciate the professor allowing our online textbook [for] free."

Testimonials from Faculty

"[in previous semesters] 20% of my students never purchased the textbook.  40% [of students] do not have the textbook within the first two weeks of the semester. [With ALMI,] that was not an issue."

". . . a majority (2/3) of my students had a passing grade after the first four weeks of the term [as opposed to] roughly 30% [in previous years]".

"The quality of the course materials did not suffer . . . Equivalent materials were accessible to me as an instructor and I did not have to remove topics from my syllabus."

"I do not intend to go back to using textbooks again!  Utilizing current content, evidence, and research is a best practice for the 21st-century educator."

"I learned from the librarians . . . to think in terms of low cost and no cost courses for students. . . [students] still have the option to purchase their own copies, but [this is] not required."

Apply now!

ALMI Report Template -- for Awardees