JANUARY 17, 2024 — UTSA Libraries announces the recipients of its Adopt-a-Free-Textbook grants for the 2023-24 academic year. Seven grants have been awarded to 11 faculty members for their commitment to adopting or creating free or Open Educational Resource (OER) textbooks as the primary instructional materials in their courses. These grants will result in substantial student savings, totaling $552,686 over the course of the grant period.
OERs are teaching and learning materials available to students at no cost. These resources, created and tailored by faculty, are openly licensed, allowing for reuse, adaptation and distribution.
Since launching the OER program in 2016, UTSA has awarded 156 faculty grants, representing a minimal investment of $235,000. Generous contributions from supporters such as Scott Sawtelle and Kathleen Curry have played a significant role in sustaining this program. UTSA has led the way among Texas colleges in implementing open educational resources, with the Adopt-a-Free Textbook grant program resulting in over $10 million in student savings.
DeeAnn Ivie, UTSA OER coordinator, emphasized the affordability mindset OER is cultivating at UTSA, stating, “Every year, when we review grant applications to the Adopt-a-Free-Textbook grant program, we are deeply inspired by the passion that UTSA faculty have for textbook affordability.”
“Our faculty are eager to adopt OER to remove the hurdles that traditional textbooks pose for their students. It’s even more heartening to see increasing faculty interest in hand-tailoring OER for their courses, creating more engaging textbooks and fostering deeper student engagement in the UTSA curriculum,” Ivie added.
There were 23 applications submitted across three categories. The design category, which garnered the most interest with 11 applications, highlights faculty enthusiasm for modifying, remixing or authoring their own course textbooks and teaching materials.
These grants require more funding, are more time-intensive and need more staff support. The No-Cost category received 10 applications and allows faculty to adopt library e-books, articles or other materials. Finally, with two applications, the Adoption grant category enables faculty to adopt existing OER for their course.
The 2023-2024 OER grant recipients are:
Adoption Grants
No-Cost Grants
Design Grants
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
At this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusJoin us for a tribute to Willie Velásquez, honoring the legacy of Willie Velásquez, a pivotal figure in shaping the history of Latino and Hispanic participation in the American voting process. Delve into his life and contributions as a champion of Latino voting rights. Moderated by UTSA's Teresa Niño, the event will feature influential voices, including Jane Velásquez, María Antonietta Berriozábal, Dora Oliva, and Anthony Gonzales.
Buena Vista Building, Gregory Luna Room, Downtown CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
