Category: Open Education News

Posted May 28, 2026

Textbooks can be expensive. Open textbooks can help alleviate the burden of textbook costs for students. They also allow you to tailor your course materials to achieve specific learning outcomes, meet local needs, and more. This asynchronous online workshop will […]

Posted May 26, 2026

Congratulations to the five JMU faculty members who were recently awarded JMU Libraries’ summer stipends for transitioning to open educational resources (OER)! The 2026 Recipients Caption: Pictured from left to right: Sara Bianco, Feixue Mei, Jingyi Zhang, Jeannie Harding, and […]

Posted April 6, 2026

If you’re using open textbooks, please fill out this short survey to let us know! We want to hear about the open textbooks or open course materials you’re using, even if your course also requires some textbooks that cost money. […]

Posted March 2, 2026

During Open Education Week (March 2-6), we’re celebrating because free and equitable access to information is at the core of what we do. This celebration also reminds us to share how you can help make education more affordable and accessible […]

Posted February 26, 2026

Are you interested in using or creating open educational resources (OER) like open textbooks or other course materials?   Funding is available, and you don’t have to do it alone! In fact, open education grant proposals can be strengthened by including faculty from multiple institutions!  You can find faculty collaborators across Virginia by posting your […]

Posted February 26, 2026

Students, did you know that when you are enrolling in courses, you can filter your course search for those with low-cost or no-cost course materials?  If the total cost of textbooks for a course is $40 or less at the […]

Posted February 18, 2026

Textbook affordability remains a major challenge for college students. In 2025, Virginia’s academic library consortium surveyed students across the Commonwealth about their textbook experiences. More than 1,000 JMU students responded, sharing how course material costs affect their academic choices and success. Here’s what they had […]

Posted February 18, 2026

Open textbooks and other open educational resources (OER) make education more accessible and affordable for Virginia students. The Virginia Open Ed Impact Award recognizes outstanding OER that have had a significant impact in higher education classes in Virginia.    You are invited to submit a nomination for an outstanding open educational resource by March 20, 2026. Self-nominations are welcome, and previously nominated OER are eligible. Editions of OER that have already received the Virginia […]

Posted February 8, 2026

This is a friendly reminder that if your course materials total $40 or less at the JMU Bookstore, you should alert the relevant staff in your department when you submit your other course information so they can add this info to Course Scheduler for […]

Posted February 8, 2026

This is a friendly reminder for staff who are responsible for entering classes in Course Scheduler. Please make sure that any courses with textbooks costing $40 or less at the JMU Bookstore are marked as No/Low-Cost so that students can […]