JANUARY 21, 2025 -- The UTSA Libraries has named the recipients of its 2024-2025 Adopt-a-Free Textbook grants. The grants will result in nearly $240,000 in student savings over the grant period. The 12 faculty receiving grants come from various academic disciplines, including Russian, education, history, public administration, humanities and social sciences, women's studies, environmental sciences, sociology, and chemistry.
This year's awardees are advancing UTSA's mission of affordability and inclusivity in education by adopting, adapting, or creating free and low-cost course materials or Open Educational Resource (OER) textbooks as the primary instructional materials in their courses. The savings generated by these efforts support students financially and enhance access to high-quality educational resources.
"The Adopt-a-Free Textbook program is a cornerstone of UTSA Libraries’ commitment to student success,” said Dean Hendrix, UTSA vice provost and university librarian. By providing faculty with the ability to provide free and open educational resources, we help ensure that all students, regardless of their financial situation, have access to the materials they need to excel.”
He added, “Since its inception in 2016, the UTSA Libraries has proudly managed this program, supporting faculty in their efforts to reduce costs and enhance learning outcomes for our vibrant student body. As a result, UTSA Libraries has saved UTSA students over $12M since 2016."
Grant Recipients
This year’s Adopt-a-Free Textbook grants were awarded to faculty with projects categorized into Adoption, No Cost and Design. These categories reflect the faculty's various approaches to reducing the cost of course materials for UTSA students.
Adoption Projects
Faculty in this category are incorporating existing OER into their courses. Recipients include:
- Andrew Chapman, who adopted OER for Elementary Russian I (RUS 1014) and Elementary Russian II (RUS 1024)
- Jorge Felipe-Gonzalez, for his History of Latin America (HIS 6913) course
- Annette Portillo, for Women's and Gender Studies (WGSS 4953)
- Vanessa Sansone, for Educational Leadership (EDU 7043)
No Cost Projects
These initiatives utilize library resources or other freely available materials to replace traditional textbooks, ensuring no additional student costs. Recipients include:
- Maria Veronica Elias, for Public Administration (PAD 5303)
- Eliot Howard, for an Honors course on leadership and society (HON 3503)
- Katherine Moore, for Sociology of Race and Ethnicity (SOC 3553)
- Mariela Rodriguez, for Advanced Educational Administration (EDU 7103)
Design Projects
Faculty in this category are creating custom OERs tailored to their courses. Awardees include:
- Akanksha Matta, for General Chemistry (CHE 1004).
- Jude Okpala, for Introduction to Humanities (HUM 2053).
- Gwen Young and Lindsay Ratcliffe, for Environmental Science (ES 1003).
"These grants are vital in ensuring that all students have equal access to the resources they need to succeed, regardless of their financial situation,” said Dee Ann Ivie, UTSA Libraries’ OER coordinator. “We are inspired by our dedicated faculty for their commitment to adopting and creating open educational resources. Their passion for making education more affordable and accessible is truly impactful, and we thank them for their unwavering support of our students' success."