| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 58.68 |
| Liaison | Margaret Lo |
| Submission Date | July 21, 2021 |
Ball State University
IN-41: Textbook Affordability
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.25 / 0.50 |
Michael
Szajewski Assistant Dean for Digital Scholarship and Special Collections University Libraries |
Does the institution host a peer-to-peer textbook exchange program, textbook lending library, or alternate textbook project?:
A brief description of the textbook exchange program, textbook lending library, or alternate textbook project:
While the University does not host a formal textbook exchange program, textbook lending library, or alternate textbook project, Ball State University Libraries does use its course reserves system to provide access to textbooks for some University courses at no cost to students. Over the course of the last year, Ball State University Libraries placed textbooks on course reserve for about 85 enrolled courses at the University.
Ball State University also provides all students with a 600-page printing credit per semester at no cost to students. Students may use this credit to freely print course materials.
Does the institution provide incentives for academic staff that explicitly encourage the authorship, peer review, and/or adoption of open access textbooks?:
A brief description of the incentives to encourage the authorship, peer review, and/or adoption of open access textbooks:
Ball State University provides a suite of consultative services aimed to support University faculty in adopting, revising, or authoring open access textbooks. Ball State University Libraries employees an Open Content and Digital Publishing Librarian who works with subject liaisons with University Libraries provides consultation and collaborative services to University faculty who wish to identify and assess relevant open access textbooks, revise or remix existing open educational resources, and publish original open access texts. In addition, this librarian regularly offers open workshops to increase campus awareness of open educational resources.
The University’s Division of Online and Strategic Learning also provides collaborative services for Ball State University faculty members to advance the development of strategies to incorporate open educational resources into course design and development. University Libraries and the Division of Online and Strategic Learning have collaborated with the Office of the Associate Provost to raise on-campus awareness of the value of open educational resources through presentations and targeted outreach.
During the last year as a result of these efforts, 5 Ball State University faculty members have made new commitments to adopt open educational resources in courses they teach, yielding a total estimated cost savings of roughly $67,000 for Ball State University students.
Website URL where information about the textbook affordability incentives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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