Textbook Affordability Initiative
Posted April 11, 2024
Textbook Affordability: Opportunities for Faculty to Engage
The Textbook Affordability Incentive Program creates financial incentives for teaching faculty (including non-tenure track faculty) to utilize e-books and/or digital courseware that leads to the elimination of a physical textbook or a single-use digital courseware expense and/or to adopt an e-book that reduces physical textbook inventory through use of Open Educational Resources, Red Shelf, or the Cengage Unlimited platform.
Now, like the OER Faculty Incentive Program, SIUE is offering incentives to incorporate the Cengage Unlimited platform in your courses.
Cengage Unlimited is an affordable course materials subscription that SIUE has adopted across the institution. Our subscription includes access to every Cengage e-book, all Cengage online homework platforms, and more. It offers access to everything in one place, for one price, with the added benefit that faculty do not need to wait for the current textbook adoption cycle to be up to make the Switch to Cengage.
Because this is a subscription model, there are no new costs associated with adopting Cengage Unlimited texts or online homework platforms. Faculty should consider this incentive available for any course regardless of its stage in the traditional textbook adoption cycle.
Why Incentivize Switching to OER or Cengage Unlimited?
- The textbook industry is evolving quickly. Costs have been rising precipitously. Adopting OER course materials is free. Adopting Cengage Unlimited materials, though not technically free, is now covered by a blanket contract. The Cengage contract allows Textbook Service to control rising course materials costs by locking in a per-student pricing model regarding Cengage content. This ensures access to up-to-date electronic textbooks and other course materials.
- To reiterate: You can change to Cengage Unlimited or OER materials at any time, including mid-adoption cycle!
- If faculty adopt OER materials and/or any offerings in Cengage Unlimited and those materials are updated, this would not garner additional costs.
- Students will maintain first-day-of-class access to course materials be they OER, Cengage Unlimited texts or courseware.
- By offering more teaching, learning, and research resources in an online format, Textbook Service will be able to reduce existing physical inventory while limiting acquisition of new inventory, which reduces physical space needs. This is necessary after Textbook Service has made the move to the MUC.
Program Details
If faculty participate in either incentive program – for adopting OER or for adopting Cengage Unlimited materials, the new text or course materials adoption must be in place within two semesters and must remain in place for a minimum of 9 semesters (3 years).
In other words, if you receive a stipend for switching to OER or Cengage Unlimited, you need to stick with the new materials moving forward. If there are new versions of the same OER or Cengage Unlimited text, faculty should feel free to use the newer edition of the title, but the incentive program is not designed for faculty to switch to OER or Cengage, collect a stipend, and then switch back to ordering traditional textbooks again right away. If faculty do decide they want to revert to a traditional textbook, not under the Cengage Unlimited package, they must simply wait the traditional 9 semesters.
Incentive participants will submit a final report following the first semester of implementation summarizing the implementation process, including benefits and challenges associated with adopting the e-book(s)/course materials, and they will indicate the reduction in physical space and/or costs. In most cases, Textbook Service can provide space and cost savings information to faculty. Faculty who receive incentives may be provided an outline for these reports, if they wish.
Payment is received upon submission and review of final report.
Incentive Program Options
1. Cengage Unlimited Individual Faculty Implementation ($500)
2. Cengage Unlimited All Course Section Implementation ($1,000/person, up to 3 implementation leaders)
3a. OER Partial Course Adoption Individual Faculty Implementation ($500)
3b. OER Partial Course Adoption All Sections ($1,000/person, up to 3 implementation leaders)
4a. OER Full Course Individual Faculty ($1000)
4b. OER Full Course Implementation All Sections ($2,000/person, up to 3 implementation leaders)
5a. Creation and Publication of Original OER by Individual Faculty (amount determined by scope of project)
5b. Creation and Publication of Original OER All Section Implementation (amount determined by scope of project, up to 3 authors)
How to Participate
Faculty interested in any of the options listed above should fill out an Interest Application. Submissions will be reviewed, and selected participants will be contacted.
Review and acceptance of submissions is ongoing and will continue as funds allow. Please consider submitting a Textbook Affordability Incentive Program Interest Application soon.