Faculty: Apply for a $2000 Grant to Switch to Open (No-Cost) Course Materials
Posted March 27, 2025 in Featured News, JMU Libraries News, Open Education News
JMU faculty, do you want to swap out an expensive textbook for an option that is open, available through JMU Libraries, or otherwise cost-free for your students?
Apply by May 2, 2025 for an Open Adopt Grant, which awards $2,000 to instructors to support the integration of existing open or no-cost materials into a syllabus. Grants are offered in the fall of each academic year, and this year they are also offering a special spring request for proposals in three categories:
- Open Adopt and Curation grants: These traditional Open Adopt grants support instructors who identify open or no-cost resources that can be used for a single class.
- VIVA Course Mapping Grants: These grants are offered to instructors who adopt an open resource that has been identified and reviewed as appropriate for a Transfer Virginia Course. Find the list of resources on the Course Mapping Hub on the VIVA Open site.
- Community Public Health Nursing Targeted Grants: These grants are for instructors who would like to adopt Community and Public Health Nursing: A Call to Action, a primer exploring the diverse roles of community and public health nurses. Learn more.
What JMU professors are saying: Jonathan Jones received a $2,000 Open Adopt Grant to swap out expensive textbooks for open online materials. By using high-quality free open resources for his GenEd History class, he is saving each of his students $250-300.
“I participated in the Open Adopt Grant program to reduce access barriers for my students. I know from personal experience what it’s like to struggle to afford textbooks. Open-access textbooks can also translate to higher student engagement with course materials. It’s a win-win for students and faculty.” – Jonathan Jones, Ph.D.
Ready to start looking at open course materials? Visit our Find Open and Affordable Course Materials page or contact Liz Thompson, JMU’s Open Education Librarian.
Learn more: Visit the VIVA Open Adopt Grants page or contact vivaopen@gmu.edu with questions. You can also attend one of the following:
- Webinar info session on April 11, 11:00 AM: Register now
- Webinar info session on April 23, 9:30 AM: Register now
- Office hours on April 28, 10am-12pm: Join Zoom meeting