Thanks to funding as part of President Smatresk’s new affordability initiatives in Spring 2021, the UNT Libraries, UNT Press, and the VPAA Curricular Innovation & Academic Partnerships are pleased to announce three revamped programs to support full-time UNT faculty, including instructors and lecturers, in adopting, adapting, and creating affordable, accessible, and effective course materials for use in UNT courses.

Two of these programs are related to open educational resources (OER):

• OER Summer Grants – Task payments (supplemental salary) of up to $5,000 are available for faculty who will newly adopt or adapt an openly licensed textbook or other OER, or will adopt, adapt, or create ancillary materials for an existing open textbook or other OER, during Summer 2021. Applications are due April 1, 2021!
• UNT Open Texts – This collaborative effort of the UNT Press and UNT Libraries supports faculty who wish to publish an open access textbook, with financial incentives of up to $10,000 for proposals submitted before September 1, 2021.

While OER is a primary opportunity for addressing affordability, it is not an option for every course. VPAA Curricular Innovation & Academic Partnerships (CIAP) is offering task payments ranging from $2,500 to $7,500 for faculty interested in adopting reduced-cost or curated course materials. Changing textbooks and digital materials requires a concerted effort with curricula changes and course structure revisions. CIAP will provide support resources for departments and individual instructors seeking to adopt less expensive course materials. Applications are due April 30, 2021. Contact Jordan.Rogers@unt.edu for more information on this opportunity.