an instructor, student, or administrator who champions textbook affordability? Textbook Heroes are members of the ISU community who have promoted or adopted low-cost or free course materials, including open educational resources (OER), helping ISU students save on the cost of materials and showing an outstanding commitment to student success.
Nominees can be an instructor who has adopted OER, a student who has advocated for OER, or someone who has supported OER in an administrative role at ISU.
Honorees will be recognized by the library as a Textbook Hero and a letter of appreciation will be sent to the hero’s relevant dean or department chair; they will also receive an invitation to give a talk about their textbook affordability work during ISU Open Education Week in Spring 2024.
Use the Textbook Hero Nomination form to submit your nomination by October 9th, 2023. In your nomination, please be prepared to explain the work the nominee has done to engage in text
book affordability and include as many details as possible about the nominee's efforts, impact on students, level of engagement, and other information you feel is relevant.
Self-nominations are accepted. Previous Textbook Hero honorees may be recognized again for new affordability projects they undertake. The project does not have to be initiated or completed in 2023 to be considered for the honor. For this honor, “affordable” should be understood to include OER materials, existing library resources, and/or other low-cost course materials even if they may be under copyright.
Instructors who are eligible and who have made a notable effort which may include (but is not limited to) the following types of effort:
Creating open educational resources (OER), which are openly published educational materials which are not under traditional copyright (i.e. under a Creative Commons license)
Creating free online course materials under traditional copyright
Adapting existing open content to a new course context (i.e. updating/revising existing OER)
Adopting existing OER (with no changes) for use in their course
Adopting the use of collective (e.g., library) resources with licensing terms amenable to sustained ISU use as alternatives to course materials containing severely restricted access terms
Adopting low-cost affordable resources (leading to a substantial reduction in course material costs)
Other notable efforts
Students are eligible who have made a notable effort which may include (but is not limited to) the following types of effort:
Raising awareness of OER or textbook affordability issues on campus,
Creating open content or hosting an event related to creating open content
Assisting faculty with creating OER
Working with student government and/or administrators to promote awareness or adoption of OER or affordability-related policies
Other notable efforts
Administrators are eligible who have made a notable effort which may include (but is not limited to) the following types of effort:
Advocating OER for inclusion in Promotion and Tenure documents
Encouraging faculty to use OER or other affordable materials
Providing administrative support to enable faculty to adopt OER
Providing funding to help the creation/adoption of OER
Helping with identifying funding sources and applying for grants
Organizing and promoting campus OER events
Participating in SBOE workgroups or committees
Sponsoring, hosting, or helping to organize a workgroup, committee, presentation, or continuing education
Other notable efforts
Use the Textbook Hero Nomination form to submit your nomination by October 9th, 2023!
For more information about the Textbook Hero honor, please contact the University Libraries OAER Committee at oaer@isu.edu.
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