This year, the William H. Hannon Library is offering stipends to LMU faculty to review and teach with open educational resources (OER). OER are teaching and learning tools that faculty can modify according to their individual teaching needs, and that students can perpetually access for free.
We are offering a $300 stipend to faculty who complete a review of an open textbook. If the reviewer additionally elects to teach with the open textbook in an LMU course, they will receive an additional $700 and be invited to participate in a supportive community of practice. We are accepting applications for reviews on a rolling basis. OER reviews will be due by Monday, Nov. 16.
Why Use Open Educational Resources?
OER are openly-licensed teaching and learning tools (e.g., textbooks) that are free to students. Zero cost. Instructors can modify OER to meet the specific needs of their course, including inviting students to contribute to (re)writing the textbook for future classes.
Assigning free textbooks is a simple way to make higher education more affordable and accessible for LMU students, who spend an average of over $1,305 per year on commercial textbooks. When students struggle to afford their course materials, their capacity for learning suffers. According to a 2026 study of 4,000 students, 70% of students skipped purchasing a textbook or access code at some point in their college career. Most of these students feared their grades would be negatively impacted simply because they could not afford to access the course materials.
In 2026, the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) recognized OER as a high-impact practice. OER benefit students by:
- Lowering course withdrawal rates variable to institutional context;
- Increasing the number of students earning A grades across all institutional contexts;
- Improving time-to-completion outcomes for students who completed at least one OER-supported course, especially for those taking longer than four years to earn their credentials;
- Supporting student success among historically underserved student populations;
- Positively influencing instructors’ teaching and learning practices.
To learn more about implementing OER as a high-impact practice, watch this webinar from the AAC&U and Open Education Association.
How Can I Get Involved and Learn More?
Want to explore open textbooks for adoption? Attend one of our open virtual information sessions:
- Thursday, Oct. 8 at 12-12:30 p.m. (Zoom registration link)
- Friday, Oct. 23 at 12-12:30 p.m. (Zoom registration link)
You can also attend one of our virtual “How to Identify, Locate, and Review OER” workshops:
- Thursday, Oct. 15 at 12-1 p.m. (Zoom registration link)
- Thursday, Oct. 22 at 12-1 p.m. (Zoom registration link)
- Friday, Nov. 6 at 12-1 p.m. (Zoom registration link)
Most importantly! Complete the Open and Affordable Textbook Initiative application to review an OER. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.
OER Success Stories at LMU
In 2023, the U.S. Department of Education awarded a team of librarians from Hannon Library a three-year, $1.5 million grant to support 11 faculty teams in integrating social justice content into existing and newly-created OER. These textbooks are now available for anyone at LMU (or any institution in the world!) to use for free in their classes. Explore the open textbooks created by OERFSJ faculty at LMU Digital Commons.
LMU’s faculty teams included:
- Nicole Bouvier-Brown, Ryan Hunt, Emily Jarvis, and Saori Shiraki (Chemistry and Biochemistry, Seaver College of Science and Engineering). Textbook created: General Chemistry 3e: OER for Inclusive Learning
- Mischa Livingstone and Jessica Livingstone (Production, School of Film and Television). Textbook created: No-Nonsense Filmmaking
- Shirin Mollah with USF partners Michael Jonas and Sandhya Patlolla (Economics, Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts). Textbook created: Principles of Economics
OERFJS faculty designed these OER to keep student learning on track with instructionally aligned content and embedded interactive elements, such as short quizzes. Ryan Hunt, for instance, maximized assessment by creating over 500 interactivities for General Chemistry 3e: OER for Inclusive Learning. Saori Shiraki, meanwhile, meticulously adapted complex mathematical formulae for screen readers and other assistive devices in her team’s inclusive chemistry textbook.
In their inspirational OER, No-Nonsense Filmmaking, Mischa Livingstone and Jessica Livingstone utilized student films to demystify technical production concepts. Their plain language and charming illustrations from their SFTV colleague Vanessa Newell, garnered their student-centered work Pressbooks’ Book of the Month for July.
To read or teach with the OERFSJ textbooks, explore our collection. Learn more about and apply for our OATI micro grants. If you have any questions, contact Open Educational Resources Librarian, Karna Younger.
The OATI grants are generously supported by Provost Kat Weaver and the Academic Technology Committee.