Existing and emerging financial limitations, COVID-19, and the pivot to online learning has exposed challenges many students face securing the course materials they need to succeed and thrive. Villanova faculty and academic support staff are encouraged to learn about strategies and resources available across the university to reference whenever a student discloses being in need of course materials.

Affordable Materials Project members compiled a listing of local course materials assistance programs and initiatives and hosted virtual workshops (recorded January 13, 2021 and January 21, 2021) for faculty and staff to share best practices for working with students facing challenges with securing the course materials they need.

Note: recordings of the video are only viewable by Villanova community members.

AMP is a university-wide collaboration between the bookstore, Falvey Memorial Library, CASA, VITAL, and the Office of the Provost, all working together to address one of the most pressing issues students face today.

By Regina Duffy

Existing and emerging financial limitations, COVID-19, and the pivot to online learning has exposed challenges many students face securing the course materials they need to succeed and thrive. Villanova faculty and academic support staff are encouraged to join the Affordable Materials Project (AMP) for this virtual workshop to learn about strategies and resources available across the university to reference whenever a student discloses being in need of course materials.

The workshop will be offered on Thursday, Jan. 21, at 3 p.m., and will run for approximately 30 minutes with time for Q&A.

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. 21 at 3 p.m., please REGISTER HERE. Once registered, you will be sent a link to this workshop.

With the struggles students are facing, it is more important than ever to be able to confidently direct students to affordable solutions. We hope that by attending this workshop, faculty and academic support staff will learn how to best help direct our students when they need it most. Please join us to learn more about how you can support 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

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.

As we welcome our students back to campus, Falvey Memorial Library wants to make sure that students are aware of the Affordable Materials Program (AMP), a joint effort between the Provost’s Office, CASA, the University Shop, and the Library. As a part of its initiatives to encourage cost savings for course materials, AMP provides for library access to e-books that are assigned as course materials for Villanova students.

Since Spring 2018, the Library has purchased more than 400 unlimited-seat e-books for AMP. Taking student enrollment in classes with AMP e-books multiplied by the bookstore used price for the same textbook yields a potential total student savings of over $700,000 since the program started!

Usage has been very strong for AMP titles in each semester across all disciplines, with significant spikes recorded in Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 due to a few very popular titles. From the Library’s perspective, when purchased e-books are reused in courses in future semesters, the return on the initial investment continues to build over time and the number of AMP titles offered per semester grows.

The AMP committee has been working hard to deliver additional titles for the Fall 2020 semester. If you are enrolled in a course with an assigned text available in the AMP program, you should have received an email with more information about accessing the e-book via the Library. Be sure to check out the AMP resources for students page to see if your text is available and save yourself some money while gaining online access to the materials you need to succeed in your coursework.

Have a great fall semester and stay healthy–wear your mask, social distance, and let’s all succeed together!

John Banionis is the Metrics & Assessment Librarian at Falvey Memorial Library.

By Linda Hauck

The Affordable Materials Project is pleased to announce the recipients of the OER Faculty Adoption Grant.  This pilot grant, generously funded by the Associate Vice Provost of Teaching and Learning, is designed to encourage faculty to select free, openly licensed textbooks as primary teaching materials.

OER improve affordability and support flexible, open teaching practices, and accessibility, which has become critically important during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Almost 200 students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering and the Villanova School of Business will benefit.  These grants will potentially save students over $23000 during the 2020-21 academic year, a 360% return on investment.

Awardees will share their experiences with adopting OER with the Villanova community and assess student satisfaction with the materials used.  We hope to continue to promote the growth of OER with another round of grants in the 2021-22 academic year!

Awardees & Courses

Linda Hauck, MLS, MBA, is the Business Librarian at Falvey Memorial Library.

By Linda Hauck

Course materials are a small portion of total student costs, but they are a piece that faculty and support staff can positively impact.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of college textbooks has increased 87.5% between 2006 and 2016.

The Affordable Materials Project (AMP) is equipping students and faculty with strategies for making course materials more affordable. This is no small contribution given that Villanova students spend on average $940 on textbooks.

Downward pressures on the cost of college course materials are showing up in the numbers. According to the National Association of College Stores, student spending on course materials has declined 41% between 2007 and 2019.

However, this may not be cause for celebration. A US PIRG study, Fixing the Broken Textbook Market 2^nd ed, reports that “two-thirds of students skip buying the assigned textbooks” and almost one fifth of students “skip buying access codes necessary to complete assignments.”  These behaviors adversely impact academic achievement and student’s general well-being.

The AMP book-matching initiative is a collaboration between the University Shop and Falvey Memorial Library.  The University Shop shares the list of faculty assigned books with the Library. The library matches required books to ebooks in our collection with unlimited simultaneous users and identifies additional titles that the library can license.  In five short semesters, from spring 2018 to spring 2020, this program has realized a cumulative potential savings for students of over $718,000.  The cumulative library cost was less than $43,000. That is a 1670% return on investment!

We are hopeful that the OER Faculty Adoption Grant, the most recent AMP effort generously funded by the Associate Vice Provost for Teaching & Learning, will run up equally impressive numbers. This year 5 grants of $1000 will be awarded to faculty who revise or design a course around using open educational resources, which are entirely free for students to use and may be revised to suit educational goals.  We look forward to calculating the student savings this investment will bring!

Linda Hauck, MLS, MBA, is the Business Librarian at Falvey Memorial Library.

By Kallie Stahl 

Michael Foight, Director of Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement, details the Affordable Materials Project (AMP) to current Villanova students. Photo courtesy of Shawn Proctor, Communication and Marketing Program Manager.

Celebrating Open Education Week, Falvey Memorial Library hosted an information table February 25, 26, and 27, raising awareness about the potential benefits open educational resources (OER) and the Affordable Material Project (AMP) can bring to students struggling with textbook costs. Library staff provided Villanova students and faculty various options for obtaining affordable course materials. Students were treated to healthy snacks (and sugary treats) to help with late-night midterm study sessions in Falvey.

Founded in 2013, Open Education Week aims to raise awareness and showcase impact of open education on teaching and learning worldwide. AMP is a university-wide collaboration between the bookstore, Falvey Library, CASA, and the Office of the Provost, all working together to address one of the most pressing issues students face today — high and rising costs of course materials.

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.