UK Libraries Now Accepting Faculty Proposals for 2022 Alternative Textbook Grants
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 3, 2022) — University of Kentucky faculty who would like to replace a traditional textbook with alternative course content in the academic year 2022-2023 are welcome to submit a proposal to UK Libraries’ Alternative Textbook Grant Program. The grants will support adoption or adaptation of existing open textbooks and creation of new course content.
UK Libraries has held six rounds of the Alternative Textbook Grant Program from 2016 to 2021. Fifty-nine grants have been awarded by August 2021 with a total enrollment exceeding 12,000 students and a cumulative estimated savings of over $1.54 million for the enrolled students. In other words, each student saved about $124 on average thanks to the use of alternative course content in place of traditional textbooks.
The Alternative Textbook Grant Program offers two tracks for applicants to consider. A successful proposal for adopting or adapting existing open textbooks, free online content, and/or UK Libraries’ licensed information resources will be awarded a grant of $1,500. For the creation of new open course content (with at least 50% of the content being original and newly created), a $2,500 grant will be awarded to an accepted proposal.
Grant recipients have been appreciative of the program because it enables timely and equitable access to learning materials while reducing the costs of education. Watch a video to hear two grantees’ comments and recommendations for the program here: https://youtu.be/fqHvd8Nbxqg.
"We are proud to support UK faculty's adoption, adaptation and creation of open course content,” said Deirdre Scaggs, UK Libraries associate dean and director of the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center. “These materials are not only sustainable and customizable, but it is evident that they also serve to benefit participating students both financially and academically."
To learn more about open education programs like this one, visit the Kentucky Virtual Library (KYVL)’s “Affordable Learning Kentucky” website. More information can be found on the site about Open Education Week, an annual event celebrating accessibility for educational materials in postsecondary education. This year’s Open Education Week will be held March 7-11 and will feature several virtual lunch and learn events hosted by the Kentucky Virtual Library. To register for an event, click here.
Proposals for the Alternative Textbook Grant Program must be submitted via this online form by March 31, 2022. All applicants will be notified of the results in early summer of 2022. After teaching this specified course with an alternative textbook, each grant recipient is required to submit a description of the outcomes and an evaluation of their experience with the program.
More details about the Alternative Textbook Grant Program are available online. Interested faculty can also contact UK Libraries Digital Humanities Librarian Jennifer Hootman for more information.
As the premier research library in the Commonwealth, UK Libraries empowers lifelong learners to discover, create and connect by providing ever-expanding access to quality information and collaborating with academic and creative communities worldwide to advance knowledge, enhance scholarship and preserve the history and culture of the Commonwealth. More information about UK Libraries can be found on its website.
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In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.