The Course Material Fellowship Program (CMFP) was created by IU Libraries in 2020. The CMFP provides instructors with the support, tools, and expertise needed to move from traditional textbooks to affordable course materials. The CMFP reached 17 instructors from 2020-2021, impacting an estimated 6,195 students so far. Just by teaching with their new materials for one semester, the 2020 and 2021 Fellows cohorts saved these students an estimated $301,020. Six fellows are currently completing the 2022 CMFP. By the end of AY 23, we project the CMFP will have saved students over $900,000.
Looking for help but can’t take on a fellowship? IU Libraries offers support beyond the CMFP, including a guide on finding and evaluating OER and consultation services.
"This has been an amazing experience for me. I’m pretty thrilled with how [my OER] turned out. I’ve got quite a bit more I want to fix, add, and update, but the students’ reviews from the spring were super-positive and I’m excited to provide the resources to others who may find them useful.”
-Rick Hullinger, 2020 Fellow, Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Instruction, Psychological and Brain Sciences
“I learned about a lot of interlocking university-based resources that, collectively, really are effectively offering alternatives to traditional for-profit publishing models. I didn't realize the extent to which the university can challenge a corporate capitalist structure.”
- 2020 Fellow
Goals
The CMFP was originally conceived as a joint program between IUPUI and IU Bloomington to encourage instructors from both campuses to utilize Open Educational Resources (OER), library eBooks and databases, and their own materials in order to replace expensive traditional textbooks. In 2022, the CMFP became a Bloomington program with the following goals:
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Lower the cost of college for students, contributing to their retention and progression
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Make course material access on the first day of class a reality for all students, regardless of socioeconomic status
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Encourage the development of alternatives to high-cost textbooks by supporting the adoption, adaptation, and creation of Open Educational Resources (OER)
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Support instructors in navigating the variety of affordable course materials solutions available and aggregate instructor supports across campus into one space
Cost Savings
Cohort in Progress
- 6 instructors
- Over 600 students
- Over $77,000 in cost savings in the first semester, $540,000 each subsequent academic year they continue to use their resource instead of a traditional textbook
Previous Cohorts (2020 & 2021)
- 17 instructors
- Over 6,000 students
- Over $300,000 in cost savings in the first semester, over $535,000 each subsequent academic year they continue to use their resource instead of a traditional textbook
Cost savings are general estimates based on instructors' predicted enrollment when applying.
Other Impact
- Customized course materials that match IU instructors’ unique pedagogical goals and teaching style
- Development of ancillary materials like question sets, projects, and checks for learning that complement the text without costing the student
- Furthering instructors' ability to assign materials that are best suit for their course
Previous Fellows
Mallory Barnes, O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
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Course: SPEA-E 538 Statistical Analysis for Environmental Science
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35 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $4,060
Xin Chen, Kelley School of Business
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Course: BUS-C 204 Business Writing
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75 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $8,700
Jim Davis, Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Physiology
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Course: ANAT-P 215 Basic Human Physiology
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400 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $46,400
Leslie Gabriele, Department of Second Language Studies
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Course: Intensive English Program Levels 3-6 Reading (four different courses)
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40 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $4,640
Phil Jordan, Department of Informatics
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Course: INFO-I 400 Applied Science Fiction in Human-Computer Interaction/design
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40 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $4,640
Asaf Lubin, Maurer School of Law
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Course: B531 Torts
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40 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $4,640
Gregory Carter, IUB, Department of Nursing
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Course: NURS-B Families and Populations
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100 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $11,600
L. Anne Delgado, IUB, Department of English
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Course: ENGL-W 131 Basic Writing
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150 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $17,400
Brandi Emerick, IUB, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
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Course: PSY-K 300: Statistical Techniques
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100 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $11,600
Genevieve Shaker and Meng-Han Ho, IUPUI, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
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Course: PHST 105 Giving and Volunteering in America
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175 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $20,300
Matthew Josefy, IUB, Kelley School of Business
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Course: BUS-J 304 Strategic Management
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210 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $24,360
Adam Maltese, IUB, School of Education
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Course: EDUC-Q 205: STEM for Educators
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75 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $8,700
Roxie Barnes, IUB, Department of Nursing
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Course: BL-NURS-H467 Complex Processes
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40 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $4,640
Kathy Berlin, IUPUI, Department of Health Sciences
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Course: HLSC-H 365 Diversity Issues in Health and Rehabilitation Services
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50 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $5,800
Megan Hansen Connolly, IUB, Department of Second Language Studies
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Course: SLST-T 131 Academic Writing
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360 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $41,760
Kim Donahue, IUPUI, Kelley School of Business
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Course: BUS-M 374 Honors Marketing: An Integrated Experience
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300 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $34,800
Heaven Hollender, IUPUI, Department of Health Sciences
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Course: HLSC-H 264: Disability and Society
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70 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $8,120
Rick Hullinger, IUB, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
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Course: PSY-K 300: Statistical Techniques
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80 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $9,280
Valia Kalaitz, IUPUI, Department of Global Health
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Course: PBLH-A 120 Culture, Health, and Happiness
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25 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $2,900
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OER: Pathways to Culture, Health and Well-Being Understanding
Sapna Mehta, IUB, Department of Biology
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Course: BIOL-L 211: Molecular Biology
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325 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $37,700
Amy Powell and Julia Sanders, IUPUI, First Year Engagement Program
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Course: Template for campus-wide IUPUI first-year seminars
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3600 students
Miranda Rodak, IUB, Department of English
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Course: ENGL-L 204 Introduction to Fiction
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500 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $58,000
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OER: Prose Fiction: An Introduction to the Semiotics of Narrative
Shana Stump, IUPUI, Department of Political Science
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Course: POLS-Y 380 Gender and the Law
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35 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $4,060
Sample Project
Sapna Mehta, Lecturer in Biology, created a customized Open Educational Resource for her Introduction to Molecular Biology course (BIOL-L211). The course is required for Biology majors at IU Bloomington, but the text originally assigned was costing the 200 students that take the course each semester almost $100 each. Sapna compiled existing OER on the topic, edited the content to match her course, and then added her own materials. The result is a learning resource that is interactive and engaging. View Sapna’s OER in Pressbooks or in our institutional repository, IUScholarWorks.
Partners and Implementation Group
The Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) and UITS have been core partners in the CMFP. These groups offer workshops and consultations to Fellows and also serve in an advisory capacity on the CMFP Implementation Group. Naz Pantaloni, Head of IU Libraries' Copyright Program, has also been an integral partner in understanding copyright, Creative Commons, and Fair Use.
CMFP Implementation Group
The Implementation Group selects Fellows each year. The Group also advises on CMFP programming and assessment. The Group is composed of subject librarians, instructional designers, and educational technology specialists.
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April Urban
Previous Implementation Group Members
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Madeleine Gonin, IUB
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Willa Tavernier, IUB
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Alexus Hunt, IUB
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Jeani Young, IUPUI
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Kristi Palmer, IUPUI
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Justin Kani, IUPUI
Learn More
Previous Fellows’ projects:
IU Libraries Scholarly Communication Department blog posts:
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Announcing the 2022-2023 Course Material Fellowship Program Cohort
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Course Material Fellowship Program Now Accepting Applications through September 12
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Announcing the 2021-2022 Course Material Fellowship Program Cohort
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Course Material Fellowship Program Accepting Applications through September 15
Presentations and Press:
Location: