Faculty: Apply for a Grant to Switch to Open Textbooks & Course Materials

Posted October 7, 2025 in Featured News, JMU Libraries News, Open Education News

Are you concerned about the high cost of course materials for your students? Apply for a VIVA Open Grant of up to $50,000 to help eliminate textbook costs and reduce the financial burden of higher education for Virginia students.

Offered by Virginia’s Academic Library Consortium (VIVA), these grants support faculty in adopting, adapting, or creating open and no-cost materials, including library resources.

Grant Categories

VIVA is offering 3 types of grants in 2025-26:

VIVA Open Adopt Grants ($2,000) support individuals as they transition to existing Open Educational Resources (OER).
VIVA Open Creation Grants ($15,000-$50,000) support teams creating high quality materials for credit-bearing courses at VIVA institutions. Final publications are peer reviewed, copyedited, and accessibility checked by VIVA publishing, and may be eligible for other publishing services, including design and typesetting. The application process has two rounds. These were formerly called “Open Course Grants.”
VIVA Open Grants for Libraries ($5,000-$30,000) provide resources for libraries in their efforts to expand, promote, and empower instructors and students in meeting curricular needs on campus. The application process has two rounds.

Deadlines & Application Process

Applications are due November 5, 2025 for all 3 grant types.
This is the only application cycle for the 2025–2026 academic year.
Some grant types require prior approval from JMU Office of Sponsored Programs-Administrative Services (OSP-AS).

Eligibility

Full-time or part-time faculty may apply.
At JMU, the Principal Investigator must be a full-time employee.
Some VIVA grant applications require JMU approval prior to submitting an application.
Questions? Contact JMU Office of Sponsored Programs-Administrative Services (OSP-AS) at grants@jmu.edu.

How to Apply

Download materials: Visit the VIVA Open Grants Request for Proposals page to access the RFP, instructions, and application forms.
Open Adopt applicants may complete their application as an individual fellowship at this stage.
Open Creation and Library applicants should continue with Steps 2 and 3.

ASAP: Contact JMU’s OSP-AS for help developing your budget. Request assistance via their interest form or email grants@jmu.edu. It takes several weeks to build a budget and ensure compliance with all federal, state, JMU, and sponsor regulations, so please reach out as soon as possible if you are submitting an Open Creation or Library grant.

By October 29, 2025: Route your completed proposal for approval by your AUH and dean in Cayuse, which has replaced the internal approval form.

What Faculty Are Saying

Diana Galarreta-Aima, Ph.D.
Course: Medical Spanish

Dr. Diana Galarreta-Aima received a $30,000 Open Course Grant to create an online training program for medical Spanish. Her work reduced textbook costs for JMU students while sharing vital knowledge with aspiring interpreters and medical providers worldwide. Learn how Dr. Galarreta-Aima leveraged JMU Libraries services to create and share her open course.

“We don’t sometimes think about the cost of textbooks for students. It adds up. This initiative makes education more open and available. The more people know about this the better.”

Chris Johnson, Ph.D.
Course: Programming Languages

With a $6,750 Open Course Grant, Dr. Johnson authored Dear Computer, a free ebook that saves students an estimated $67,500 over five years. Each chapter of this engaging ebook includes coding exercises and questions that increase student engagement and understanding.

“I wrote Dear Computer to save students money, clarify my own understanding, and perfectly align the readings with lectures and labs. I feel agency over the course again, and my students feel considered.”

Learn More

For JMU-specific questions about eligibility or approval, contact grants@jmu.edu.

For program details, visit the VIVA Open Grants page or contact vivaopen@gmu.edu.

Join an Optional Online Info Session

Get your questions answered at one of VIVA’s optional webinars:

October 15, 2pm: Register now
October 24, 10am: Register now