Cengage Unlimited Faculty Incentive Program
SIUE offers incentives to both tenure-track and non-tenure track faculty to incorporate the Cengage Unlimited platform in their courses where there is a cost savings.
Cengage Unlimited is an affordable digital subscription for textbook and course materials 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 every Cengage resource in one place, for one price, with the added benefit that faculty do not need to wait for the end of a current textbook adoption cycle to make the switch.
Cengage Unlimited Incentive
In an incentive program that is similar to but separate from the OER Faculty Incentive, faculty may elect to replace an existing textbook or piece of digital courseware with an option from the Cengage Unlimited platform and may receive a stipend for their efforts. The stipend amounts are similar to those related to OER adoption.
To date, more than a dozen faculty members have successfully applied for grants to make the switch to Cengage course materials.
Just as with OER textbooks and course materials, Cengage Unlimited will not cover all of the textbook needs at SIUE, but making the most of the subscription is part of an overall strategy to keep textbooks affordable to students while still delivering the curriculum that faculty work hard to develop and to maintain.
Faculty may apply for a Cengage Unlimited Incentive grant here.
You will be asked for the following information:
- Your name, email and course number
- Whether this is a team project or single faculty effort
- Names of team members where applicable
- Number of course sections offered each academic year
- Information about current textbooks and course materials
- Planned implementation timeframe
Submitters will also be asked to acknowledge that the incentive is subject to availability and approval and that they must submit a final report, which must be approved by the Cengage Review Committee before stipends are paid.
Program Details
Since this is a subscription model, there are no additional 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.
Cengage staff are available to help faculty identify suitable e-books and course materials. Additionally, Cengage offers tutorials within Blackboard indicating how to search for Cengage materials and how to incorporate them into your Blackboard course shell.
Tutorials can be found in Blackboard under Organizations and the link titled "ORG-CENGAGE-RESOURCES." This link includes instructions on searching the Cengage catalog for potentially suitable texts.
Faculty participating in the Cengage Unlimited Incentive program must adopt the new text(s) or course materials within two semesters of seeking the grant. Once adopted, the materials must remain in use for a minimum of nine semesters (three years).
However, should Cengage publish a new edition of a textbook or courseware for which faculty have received an incentive, the faculty member may switch to the new version without affecting their stipend status.
Tiers
- Cengage Unlimited Individual Faculty Implementation ($500-$1,000)
- Cengage Unlimited All Course Section Implementation ($500-$1,000/person, up to 3 implementation leaders)
The adoption of a textbook should involve all faculty who teach or are likely to teach a course. The review committee requires a signature from the faculty’s department chair indicating that they have discussed the implications of implementing Cengage Unlimited course materials.
Example of Successful Implementation Faculty Champions
