Libraries awards nine Open Educational Resources Grants
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—The University Libraries has awarded Open Educational Resources (OER) grants to nine Western faculty members, helping to lower textbook costs for students enrolled in these courses.
The six OER adoption grants will help instructors replace their commercial textbooks with free OER and are expected to save students an estimated $33,430 in textbook costs, based on projected 2026 course enrollment.
The three OER creation grants will support faculty in developing new open textbooks on health communications, business data and social work, benefitting Western students and learners globally. Because OER have open licenses, anyone in the world can access, use and adapt the materials for educational purposes.
“Because the books will be published with a Creative Commons license, rather than traditional copyright, people will be able to use the portions of the books that pertain to a variety of other areas,” says Michele Behr, scholarly communications and open educational resources librarian.
The proposed topics have broad appeal, and “communicating about health and data are relevant issues for a variety of fields.”
The Libraries published seven grant-funded open textbooks in 2024 and 2025, and initial data indicates use both on campus and by the general public. The published OER textbooks have racked up over 84,000 pageviews and 28,000 online users.
The grants are intended to help instructors access or create high-quality materials and make college more affordable for students. 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.
“Paying for textbooks out-of-pocket is a burden for some students, and courses using free OER can be a financial relief,” Behr says.
For more information about the grant program, visit the Libraries’ OER webpage.
Fall 2025 OER Adoption Grant recipients
- Dr. Elissa Allen, NUR 3320
- Dr. Julie Apker, COM 2800
- Dr. Whitney DeCamp, SOC 3650
- Dr. Zoann Snyder, SOC 4420
- Marian Tripplett, SWRK 4010
- Amy Zufelt, BCM 4310 and BCM 4340
Fall 2025 OER Creation Grant recipients
- Dr. Julie Apker, COM 4840
- Marie Moreno, BCM 2400
- Dr. Dee Sherwood, SWRK 2100