Category: Open Education News

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 […]

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 […]

Posted January 28, 2026

The JMU Libraries Summer Stipend for Transitioning to OER provides funding for faculty to do critical course redesign work, such as developing new assignments and graded activities, when transitioning to an open textbook or other open educational resources (OER).

Posted January 14, 2026

Join this virtual workshop to learn about Pressbooks, a platform for publishing ebooks, textbooks, white papers, reports and openly licensed materials. […]

Posted January 5, 2026

Textbook costs are a serious issue for many JMU students. Learn easy steps you can take to help, with support from JMU Libraries. […]

Posted December 17, 2025

Faculty, if it feels too late to find open and affordable materials for your course or create your own for the spring semester, there are other easy ways you can make course materials more affordable for your students! 1. Find […]

Posted December 17, 2025

Students, if you’re feeling worried about how to pay for textbooks this semester, you’re not alone! JMU Libraries offers several options to help students find affordable textbooks. We’ve created this list to share the ways we can help and additional […]

Posted December 10, 2025

Nicole Wilson and Elaine Kaye, instructional designers in JMU Libraries, recently received international recognition for their work. They co-authored a chapter in a book that has earned an award for excellence in open education. The book, Pedagogy Opened: Innovative Theory […]