Announcements
The Textbook Affordability Conference (TAC) is designed to bring together industry and campus stakeholders to become partners and drive solutions for affordability and student success. Join colleagues from across the higher education community to advance affordable, accessible, and effective course content options that lead to student learning, retention, and completion. Register today at tac.nacs.org!
TAC is a working conference that brings together a multitude of higher education perspectives—from stores, libraries, faculty and administration to nonprofit organizations, vendors and the all-important student voice. In two days of sessions, roundtable discussions and workshops, attendees will collaborate with a diverse team of campus professionals to explore topics, exchange ideas, and craft strategies to ensure everyone leaves with fresh ideas and a plan for applying them on campus.
A successful affordability strategy for your campus requires participation from all stakeholders. TAC is a unique opportunity to work directly with those outside your everyday sphere and find common ground towards shared goals. Register today! Early Bird Pricing ends February 28, 2020.
A generous grant from the NACS Foundation will provide limited scholarships for eligible student and campus attendees to help offset some costs. Applications are available through February 14, 2020 and can be accessed through the TAC website.
Dates: April 26-28, 2020
Location: San Diego State University
Hotel: DoubleTree by Hilton San Diego Mission Valley
Registration and Additional TAC Information
Initiatives undeway for low-cost, free textbooks for California college students
Students seeking alternatives to buying books - Ashley A. Smith
Universities across California, especially in the 23-campus California State University system, have become more transparent about textbooks and more proactive in assigning free, digital or low-cost books to students. Full Article
CSU's MERLOT is featured as the "mothership of OER" in Campus Technology.
CSU Annual AL$ Coordinators' RFP Meeting, February 6-7, 2020
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Location: The California State University, Office of the Chancellor
NEW AL$ Featured Partners
We are excited to share information about our newest AL$ partners who have joined our efforts to improve student learning outcomes and reduce the overall cost of education for CSU students.
Designed by educators, panOpen is a next generation OER learning platform realizing the promise of OER and empowering faculty with tools for fully developed OER courses, faculty collaboration outside the confines of institutional software, LMS integration, homework, quizzes, teaching slides, and authoring tools, with excellent support. For $25, faculty can adopt enhanced, interactive OER as they would a commercial textbook with the confidence in the quality and reliability of the content. Visit our public library of OER titles to preview some of the titles available on the panOpen platform. Press Release 10-15-2019
Odigia, Learning Liberated. Anchored in a simple philosophy that different learners have different needs, Odigia removes the barriers created by the one-size fits-all-model of Education. Odigia's ready to go Courseware empowers faculty, to create affordable and engaging learning experiences that improve learner engagement, and retention. Visit Odigia's Courseware Catalog. Odigia/CSU AL$ Partnership Announcement
Lumen Learning creates well-designed, interactive course materials that save time for faculty and improve learning for students. Supported courseware includes customizable textbooks, online homework, superb LMS integration, an awesome faculty support, all for just $25 per course. Continual improvements makes Lumen's OER courses simple to use and more effective at supporting learning. Visit Lumen's ready-to-adopt course catalog.
Awaken Student Curiosity with online discussion that simply works.
Packback is an "AI supported" online discussion platform that improves student curiosity, communication skills and critical thinking. Packback delivers an easy-to-use and engaging discussion experience for students and professors, with powerful support from automated moderation sorting, and scoring algorithms. Packback.co or contact curious@packback.co
Packback/CSU AL$ Partnership Announcement.
LibreTexts receives Open Textbooks Pilot Program Award
Congratulations to LibreTexts.org for leading a coalition of institutions to receive the first federal OER funding award, the Open Textbooks Pilot Program Award.
Single Project Earns Federal OER Pilot Grant. The federal government will award the entire $4.9 million of the first round of it's OER funding pilot to a STEM-focused open textbook project out of the University of California, Davis, the Department of Education confirmed with "Inside Digital Learning." Read Full Article
CA Lawmakers Pass Food Security Bill Aimed at Helping College Students ABC 10
The bill would create a standardized form for colleges and universities to work with counties to enroll students in CalFresh. Article
SDSU's Immediate Access Projected to Save Students $4 Million
The Immediate Access program at SDSU helps ensure students have access to important course materials. Through its Immediate Access program, San Diego State University estimates it will save students $4 million in textbook costs during the current academic year. Full Article
CSU Channel Islands Offering Two Textbook Free Majors with Plans for More
CSUCI now has an alternative for some students worried about being able to afford textbooks. CSUCI educators working together have developed two "Z-Majors" which are majors that use quality, free and readily available educational resources as opposed to textbooks, which can be costly. CSUCI is the first in the CSU system to develop undergraduate "Z-Majors."
Ventura County Star article on CSUI's Z-Majors
No Textbook? Not a Problem - CSU Bakersfield Exploring Z Degree Majors
Zero-cost course materials are materials in which students can find online, for free, compared to their counterpart, textbooks. This the defining characteristic of a Z- Major. Affordable Learning Solutions and Textbook Affordability Coordinator Sandra Bozarth, spoke on the subject stating that, "if students are being provided their textbooks for free, in whatever format it is, I think that is going to help them succeed better in class." FULL ARTICLE
NEW Academic Technologies Services Website Launched
Academic Technology Services (ATS) strives to identify, advance and support technology initiatives that enable student success through effective collaboration with the 23 campuses of the CSU. We do this through four key priorities: Online Education, Affordable Learning, Transforming Education, and Scaling Innovation
SB 1359 — CSUs and CCCs Identifying Courses with Free Course Materials
California Senate Bill 1359 requires California State University campuses “to clearly highlight, by means that may include a symbol or logo in a conspicuous place on the online campus course schedule, the courses that exclusively use digital course materials that are free of charge to students and may have a low-cost option for print versions.” The deadline to implement this designation in course schedules is January 1, 2018. Memo to CSU Presidents from Gerry Hanley, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Academic Technology Services.
Events
Upcoming AL$/AB798 Webinars
- Thursday, January 30, 2020, 12:00-1:00 p.m.
- February - No Webinar
- March 19, 2020, 12:00-1:00 p.m.
- April 16, 2020, 12:00-1:00 p.m.
- May 14, 2020, 12:00-1:00 p.m.
To join the AL$/AB798 webinars https://calstate.zoom.us/j/5825306435, All times PDT.
For additional information, contact Theresa Dykes(tdykes@calstate.edu).
AL$ / AB 798 Webinar Archives
January 30, 2020
November 14, 2019
October 17, 2019
September 26, 2019
- Presentation Slides
- Full Webinar Recording and Chat - Unavailable Due to Technical Difficulties
June 27, 2019
- Presentation Slides
- Full Webinar Recording and Chat - Unavailable Due to Technical Difficulties
May 23, 2019
April 11, 2019
March 14, 2019
December 13, 2018
- Presentation Slides
- Full Webinar Recording and Chat - Unavailable Due to Technical Difficulties