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 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 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 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 […]

Posted December 4, 2025

Looking ahead to spring? We’re here to help you start strong. Here are six ways we can help you get ready for next semester: 1. Improve the accessibility of your Canvas courses: We can help you optimize student access to […]

Posted September 29, 2025

Effective research includes organizing, managing, sharing, and preserving your research outputs. The Open Science Framework (OSF) is a platform that supports researchers in any discipline throughout the entire research lifecycle—from study design to data sharing.  Through JMU Libraries, you have enhanced […]

Posted September 29, 2025

Learn about open access publishing efforts at JMU by attending this panel discussion. Hear from current and former editors of the International Journal on Responsibility, as well as faculty and staff from the Libraries’ Scholarly Communications team, about the collaborative processes involved […]

Posted May 9, 2025

Please join us in celebrating the JMU Libraries employees who won JMU awards this year!  Open Education Librarian: Liz Thompson Liz Thompson, the Open Education Librarian, is the 2025 Distinguished Service Award winner for the JMU Libraries.  This award recognizes a […]