Six Western instructors awarded grants to adopt open educational resources
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—The University Libraries at Western Michigan University awarded Open Educational Resources (OER) Adoption Grants to six instructors in April. The grants are anticipated to save over 360 students in seven courses an estimated $60,700 in textbook costs based on projected summer and fall 2025 and spring 2026 course enrollment.
The OER Adoption Grants support WMU instructors in switching from a commercial textbook to free, high-quality online resources. Open educational resources are openly licensed teaching and learning resources that are free to access, use, adapt and redistribute.
Western students in courses funded by the OER grants have saved an estimated $1.3 million in textbook costs since the grants launched in 2019. The Libraries expanded the grant program in 2022 to help faculty create open textbooks for Western students and learners worldwide. The Libraries published the first grant-funded open textbooks in April 2024.
Spring 2025 OER Adoption Grant recipients
- Dr. Peter Gustafson, AE 4630
- Dr. Pavel Ikonomov, EDMM 3540
- Dr. Elizabeth Isidro, LS 6300
- Dr. Cristina Fava*, MUS 2700 and MUS 2710
- Dr. Amanda Quist, MUS 5810
- Dr. Chitra Singh, FCS 5340
*Awarded to Dr. Lauron Kehrer and transferred to Dr. Cristina Fava, who will teach MUS 2700 in fall 2025 and MUS 2710 in spring 2026.
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