Textbook Affordability Mini-Grants (TAM)

Category 1: Creation

Maximum funding: $10,000
Payment Schedule: Half after a project kick-off meeting with D'Arcy Hutchings, half in May 2025 after Progress Check-In (and completion of Initial Deliverables listed below).
Payment Method: Varies according to awardee's situation and needs. UAA awardees may be paid directly via payroll (which has tax implications) or transferred to the awardee's department. Options for APU faculty may differ.

Awardee Requirements:

• Schedule and attend a project kick-off meeting with D'Arcy Hutchings before the end of Fall 2024 semester.
• Complete the OER/ZTC Certificate program (waived for past Textbook Affordability Fellows or participants of a similar intensive program).
• Create ADA-accessible, openly licensed (OER) textbook or other core, required course materials with at least 75% original content.
• Submit completed OER to ScholarWorks@UA and OEN Open Textbook Library, or approved equivalents. Make an editable version of the work publicly available.
• Schedule and complete a Progress Check-In with D'Arcy Hutchings by May 15, 2025, which includes providing the Initial Deliverables (described below) required to receive the second half of your funding.
• Commit to completing the project as soon as possible and no later than August 2026; and to teach the target course using the created OER (instead of a commercial resource) for 2 semesters beginning no later than Fall 2026.
• Assess the OER and its impact.
• Prepare a brief final report detailing the work completed and assessment summary, due within 2 months after the end of the first semester in which they are used in a class (for example, if teaching the course for the first time in spring semester 2025, the final report is due in early July 2025).

Regular meetings with D'Arcy Hutchings, Instructional Design and Open Education Librarian, are recommended.

Initial Deliverables Due at Progress Check-In:

• Completion of the OER/ZTC Certificate program (waived for past Textbook Affordability Fellows or participants of a similar intensive program).
• Detailed outline of the book you are creating, including chapter titles, names of headings within each chapter, and brief summaries or lists of the content that will appear within each.
• Draft of at least one complete book chapter (or equivalent for non-book works).
• List of OER works you plan to use content from, including titles, links, and the type of Creative Commons license of each (recall that up to 25% of existing content can be used within Creation projects), if any.
• Updated and more detailed proposed timeline showing path to timely completion (vs. the one submitted with your application).
• In addition to the above, be prepared to discuss your plans for: ensuring work is ADA-accessible, applying a Creative Commons license (which one and why), incorporating the work into the course (e.g., any course revisions that will be needed), utilizing peer review (if relevant), and utilizing editing services (if applicable).

Category 2: Adaptation (and Ancillaries)

Maximum funding: $5,000
Payment Schedule: Half after a project kick-off meeting with D'Arcy Hutchings, half in May 2025 after Progress Check-In (and completion of Initial Deliverables listed below).
Payment Method: Varies according to awardee's situation and needs. UAA awardees may be paid directly via payroll (which has tax implications) or transferred to the awardee's department. Options for APU faculty may differ.

Awardee Requirements:

• Schedule and attend a project kick-off meeting with D'Arcy Hutchings before the end of Fall 2024 semester.
• Complete the OER/ZTC Certificate program (waived for past Textbook Affordability Fellows or participants of a similar intensive program).
• Adapt, update, combine, or expand upon (including the creation of ancillary materials like workbooks, problem sets, etc.) existing materials (authored by anyone) to create an ADA-accessible, openly licensed (OER) textbook or other core, required course materials. Existing materials used will ideally be openly licensed (e.g., Creative Commons licensed) or in the public domain. However, portions of copyrighted materials may be used when the applicant has a strong fair use case or has received explicit permission for the materials to be used.
• Submit completed OER to UA ScholarWorks and at least one relevant OER repository (e.g., Merlot, OER Commons), or approved equivalents. Make an editable version of the work publicly available.
• Schedule and complete a Progress Check-In with D'Arcy Hutchings by May 15, 2025, including providing the Initial Deliverables (described below) required to receive the second half of your funding.
• Commit to completing the project as soon as possible and no later than August 2025 (for 2024 call for proposals); and to teach the target course using the created OER (instead of a commercial resource) for 2 semesters beginning no later than Fall 2025 (or Spring 2026 for classes offered only in spring semester).
• Assess the OER and its impact.
• Prepare a brief final report detailing the work completed and assessment summary, due February 15, 2026 (or July 7, 2026 for classes only offered spring semesters). Clarification added Nov. 2024: Final reports should be completed shortly after the end of the first semester using the new materials. Awardees commit to teaching the course without commercial materials at least once more but will not be required to report anything regarding the second semester.

Regular meetings with D'Arcy Hutchings, Instructional Design and Open Education Librarian, are recommended.

Initial Deliverables Due at Progress Check-In:

• Completion of the OER/ZTC Certificate program (waived for past Textbook Affordability Fellows or participants of a similar intensive program).
• Detailed outline of the work you are creating, including brief summaries/lists of future content to be developed.
• List of any OER works you plan to use content from, including titles, links, and the type of Creative Commons license of each.
• Draft that constitutes at least 5% of what the completed work will be.
• In addition to the above, be prepared to discuss your plans for: ensuring work is ADA-accessible, applying a Creative Commons license (which one and why), incorporating the work into the course (e.g., any course revisions that will be needed), and utilizing editing services (if applicable).

Category 3: Adoption

Maximum funding: $1,500
Payment Schedule: Half after a project kick-off meeting with D'Arcy Hutchings, half in May 2025 after Progress Check-In (and completion of Initial Deliverables listed below).
Payment Method: Varies according to awardee's situation and needs. UAA awardees may be paid directly via payroll (which has tax implications) or transferred to the awardee's department. Options for APU faculty may differ.

Awardee Requirements:

• Schedule and attend a project kick-off meeting with D'Arcy Hutchings before the end of Fall 2024 semester.
• Complete the OER/ZTC Certificate program (waived for past Textbook Affordability Fellows or participants of a similar intensive program).
• Adopt an openly licensed (OER) textbook or other no-cost required course materials.
• Schedule and complete a Progress Check-In with D'Arcy Hutchings by May 15, 2025, which includes providing the Initial Deliverables (described below) required to receive the second half of your funding.
• Commit to teaching the target course using the selected OER or other no-cost course materials (instead of a commercial resource) for 2 semesters beginning no later than Fall 2025 (or Spring 2026 for classes offered only in spring semester).
• Assess the impact of the transition (e.g., on student learning, your pedagogy, the University).
• Prepare a brief final report detailing the work completed and assessment summary, due February 15, 2026 (or July 7, 2026 for classes offered only in spring semester). Clarification added Nov. 2024: Final reports should be completed shortly after the end of the first semester using the new materials. Awardees commit to teaching the course without commercial materials at least once more but will not be required to report anything regarding the second semester.
• Submit finalized syllabi with detailed reading list to ScholarWorks@UA and Merlot, or approved equivalents.

Periodically meeting with D'Arcy Hutchings, Instructional Design and Open Education Librarian, and/or an instructional designer from FD&IS (UAA faculty only) is recommended.

Initial Deliverables Due at Progress Check-In:

• Completion of the OER/ZTC Certificate program (waived for past Textbook Affordability Fellows or participants of a similar intensive program).
• Complete list of required materials you'll be using for the course, including OER, other no-cost resources, and any commercial materials you must continue to use.
• Screenshot of bookstore submission showing that the commercial course material(s) you intended to replace with this mini-grant is no longer listed as a required material for either Summer 2025 or Fall 2025 (waived for courses only taught in Spring semesters).
• In addition to the above, be prepared to discuss your plans for incorporating the new materials into the course (e.g., any course revisions that will be needed).

Category 4: Other

Maximum funding: Variable
Payment Schedule: Variable
Payment Method: Varies according to awardee's situation and needs. UAA awardees may be paid directly via payroll (which has tax implications) or transferred to the awardee's department. Options for APU faculty may differ.

Awardee Requirements:

• Schedule and attend a project kick-off meeting with D'Arcy Hutchings before the end of Fall 2024 semester.
• Complete the OER/ZTC Certificate program (waived for past Textbook Affordability Fellows or participants of a similar intensive program).
• Schedule and complete a Progress Check-In with D'Arcy Hutchings (date TBD), including providing the Initial Deliverables (described below).
• Complete your proposed project.
• Assess the impact of the project (e.g., on student learning, your pedagogy, the University).
• Prepare a brief final report detailing the work completed and assessment summary.
• Publicly share something online that details the work so others can benefit. Exact content and sharing method to be negotiated.
• Other requirements will vary according to the type of project proposed.
• Timeline/deadlines will vary according to the type of project proposed.

Initial Deliverables Due at Progress Check-In:

• Completion of the OER/ZTC Certificate program (waived for past Textbook Affordability Fellows or participants of a similar intensive program)
• Additional deliverables and timing of the Progress Check-In will vary according to the type of project proposed.