By Regina Duffy

This January, the Affordable Materials Project (AMP) will be sponsoring a virtual workshop aimed at helping faculty and academic support staff learn about course materials assistance programs offered at Villanova University, as well as best practices for guiding students to them. Existing and emerging financial limitations, COVID-19, and the pivot to online learning has exposed challenges that many students face securing the course materials they need to succeed.

The workshop will be offered on Wednesday, Jan. 13, at 10 a.m., and Thursday, Jan. 21, at 3 p.m., and will run for approximately 30 minutes with time for Q&A. The workshop is being presented on two different dates and times for the convenience of attendees and will cover the same material.

AMP is a university-wide collaboration between the Villanova University Shop, Falvey Memorial Library, the Center for Access, Success and Achievement (CASA), Villanova Institute for Teaching and Learning (VITAL), and the Office of the Provost, to address one of the most pressing issues students face today. Their mission is to provide faculty with resources and options for selecting high quality, affordable course materials and create student awareness of affordable options for obtaining course materials. The committee is led by Lauren Ward, CASA, AAP Counselor & Coordinator, and is comprised of dedicated faculty and staff representatives from the co-sponsoring areas.

To attend the Course Materials Assistance Program at Villanova workshop on Jan. 13 at 10:00 am, please REGISTER HERE. Once registered, you will be sent a link to the workshop.

To attend the Course Materials Assistance Program at Villanova Workshop on Jan. 21 at 3 p.m., please REGISTER HERE. Once registered, you will be sent a link to this workshop.

With the continued rise in the cost of textbooks, struggles brought on by COVID-19, financial difficulties of collegiate students, and many courses having to switch to virtual platforms, it is more important than ever to direct students to affordable solutions. We hope that by attending this workshop,  faculty and academic support staff will learn about strategies and resources available across the university to reference whenever a student discloses being in need of course materials. Please join us to learn more about how you can help our students at Villanova!

For more information about the Affordable Materials Project, please visit: https://library.villanova.edu/amp/index.html

Regina Duffy is a Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Memorial Library.