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

Current Call for Proposals

The 2024-2025 CFP for Fellows is open! The new CFP will close October 16, 2023. Look at the 2024 CFP or contact Haley Norris (hjnorris@iu.edu ) for additional information. 

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:  

  • Lower the cost of college for students, contributing to their retention and progression  

  • Make course material access on the first day of class a reality for all students, regardless of socioeconomic status  

  • Encourage the development of alternatives to high-cost textbooks by supporting the adoption, adaptation, and creation of Open Educational Resources (OER)  

  • 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 

  • Course: SPEA-E 538 Statistical Analysis for Environmental Science 

  • 35 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $4,060 

Xin Chen, Kelley School of Business 

  • Course: BUS-C 204 Business Writing 

  • 75 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $8,700 

Jim Davis, Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Physiology 

  • Course: ANAT-P 215 Basic Human Physiology 

  • 400 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $46,400 

Leslie Gabriele, Department of Second Language Studies 

  • Course: Intensive English Program Levels 3-6 Reading (four different courses) 

  • 40 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $4,640 

Phil Jordan, Department of Informatics 

  • Course: INFO-I 400 Applied Science Fiction in Human-Computer Interaction/design 

  • 40 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $4,640 

Asaf Lubin, Maurer School of Law 

  • Course: B531 Torts 

  • 40 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $4,640 

Gregory Carter, IUB, Department of Nursing 

  • Course: NURS-B Families and Populations 

  • 100 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $11,600 

L. Anne Delgado, IUB, Department of English 

  • Course: ENGL-W 131 Basic Writing 

  • 150 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $17,400 

Brandi Emerick, IUB, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences 

  • Course: PSY-K 300: Statistical Techniques 

  • 100 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $11,600 

Genevieve Shaker and Meng-Han Ho, IUPUI, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy 

  • Course: PHST 105 Giving and Volunteering in America 

  • 175 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $20,300 

Matthew Josefy, IUB, Kelley School of Business 

  • Course: BUS-J 304 Strategic Management 

  • 210 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $24,360 

Adam Maltese, IUB, School of Education 

  • Course: EDUC-Q 205: STEM for Educators 

  • 75 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $8,700 

Roxie Barnes, IUB, Department of Nursing 

  • Course: BL-NURS-H467 Complex Processes 

  • 40 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $4,640 

Kathy Berlin, IUPUI, Department of Health Sciences 

  • Course: HLSC-H 365 Diversity Issues in Health and Rehabilitation Services 

  • 50 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $5,800 

Megan Hansen Connolly, IUB, Department of Second Language Studies 

  • Course: SLST-T 131 Academic Writing 

  • 360 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $41,760 

Kim Donahue, IUPUI, Kelley School of Business

  • Course: BUS-M 374 Honors Marketing: An Integrated Experience 

  • 300 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $34,800 

  • OER: Marketing: An Introductory Text 

Heaven Hollender, IUPUI, Department of Health Sciences 

  • Course: HLSC-H 264: Disability and Society 

  • 70 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $8,120 

Rick Hullinger, IUB, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

  • Course: PSY-K 300: Statistical Techniques 

  • 80 students impacted with a projected total cost savings of $9,280

  • OER: K300 Videos and Resources 

Valia Kalaitz, IUPUI, Department of Global Health 

Sapna Mehta, IUB, Department of Biology 

Amy Powell and Julia Sanders, IUPUI, First Year Engagement Program 

Miranda Rodak, IUB, Department of English 

  • Course: ENGL-L 204 Introduction to Fiction 

Shana Stump, IUPUI, Department of Political Science 

  • Course: POLS-Y 380 Gender and the Law 

  • 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.  

a screenshot of the Pressbook for a Molecular Biology Course, includes the cover image and abstract describing the resource

 

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. 

Previous Implementation Group Members  

  • Justin Kani, IUPUI  

Learn More

Previous Fellows’ projects: 

IU Libraries Scholarly Communication Department blog posts: 

Presentations and Press:  

 

Location: