UNM awarded open textbook grant

Ryan Boetel, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
·1 min read

Nov. 10—Textbooks can be an expensive part of college, but the University of New Mexico has been tapped for a federal grant to establish instructional materials that exist in the public domain.

UNM announced last week that it was one of the recipients of the Open Textbook Grant. The grant will provide the university with $2.1 million to create the New Mexico Open Educational Resources Consortium, which will help faculty across the state adopt open-access materials.

It was one of five grants awarded across the country by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs.

"Open textbooks can dramatically lower costs for college students and remove unnecessary burdens for those pursuing higher education," Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., said in a statement. "I am pleased to now welcome this major investment to help UNM provide more cost-effective course materials to more students."

Open educational resources are materials that exist in the public domain or are under copyright that have been released under an open license. That allows them to be used for no cost.

There are currently UNM faculty members in several different colleges and departments who are working to develop and deliver open textbooks and other materials.

UNM University Libraries OER Librarian Jennifer Jordan is the principal investigator for the program.

"This grant program will be pivotal for OER in New Mexico because using open curriculum takes more time and effort for faculty to adopt and adapt," she said in a statement. "This grant will support faculty and encourage multi-institutional adoption and collaboration of open curriculum."