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Category: Open Education News

Faculty: Are You Using Open Textbooks?

Posted January 17, 2025

If so, please fill out this survey to let us know! We’d love to hear about the open textbooks or open course materials you are using, even if your course also requires some textbooks that cost money. The survey is […]

Faculty Deadline to Mark Your Course as No/Low Cost

Posted January 16, 2025

This is a friendly reminder that if your course materials total $40 or less at the JMU Bookstore, you need to alert the relevant staff in your department when you submit your other course information so they can add this […]

piggy bank sitting on a stack of books

Staff Reminder to Mark No/Low-Cost Courses in Course Scheduler

Posted January 16, 2025

This is a friendly reminder for staff who are responsible for entering classes in Course Scheduler. Please make sure that any courses with textbooks costing less than $40 at the JMU Bookstore are marked as No/Low-Cost so that students can […]

piggy bank sitting on a stack of books

Create Open Course Materials: A Workshop for JMU Faculty

Posted January 10, 2025

Looking for a way to publish a textbook, open access book, white paper, or technical report? Join this virtual workshop to learn about Pressbooks, which is ideal for publishing openly licensed teaching, learning, and scholarship materials as an e-book. Pressbooks also allows […]

Faculty: Apply for a Grant to Transition to Open Textbooks & Course Materials

Posted January 8, 2025

Are you concerned about the high cost of course materials for your students? Consider applying for a grant of $5,000 to $50,000 to help reduce the costs of higher education for Virginia students by eliminating the costs of textbooks and […]

Get Started Using Open Textbooks: Self-Paced Workshop for JMU Faculty ($200 Stipend)

Posted January 6, 2025

Textbooks can be expensive. Open textbooks can help alleviate the burden of textbook costs for students. They also allow you to tailor course materials to achieve specific learning outcomes. Apply by February 7 to join the Spring 2025 edition of […]

Help! I Can’t Afford My Textbooks!

Posted January 2, 2025

Students, if you’re feeling worried about how to pay for textbooks this semester, you’re not alone! JMU Libraries offers several options to help students find affordable textbooks. We’ve created this list to share the ways we can help and additional […]

piggy bank sitting on a stack of books

11 Easy Ways Faculty Can Make Textbooks More Affordable

Posted December 10, 2024

Textbook costs are a serious issue for many JMU students. According to a Spring 2024 survey, 39% of JMU students chose not to enroll in a class due to the cost of textbooks and 30% of students said they take fewer […]

piggy bank sitting on a stack of books

6 Ways We Can Help Faculty Prepare for Spring Semester

Posted December 6, 2024

It’s almost the end of the semester! As you wrap up fall, reflect, and start preparing for spring, remember that even though Carrier is under construction, we are here to support your research and teaching. Here are 6 things we’re eager […]

JMU Libraries is working to make textbooks more affordable

Posted November 21, 2024

At JMU Libraries, free and equitable access to information is at the core of what we do. Here are four ways we are working to make textbooks and other academic resources more freely available for JMU students: 1. We encourage […]