Affordable Learning Georgia Awards $359,000 in Grants for Open Educational Resources

Affordable Learning Georgia (ALG) recently awarded more than $359,000 to University System of Georgia faculty and instructors to expand access to open educational resources. These grants will save students an estimated $1 million in the cost of course materials.

ALG, an initiative of GALILEO and the University System of Georgia, promotes student success by increasing the availability of affordable alternatives to expensive commercial textbooks. This is the 16th round of awards for ALG’s Textbook Transformation Grants.

“We’re very pleased with the continued positive support for Affordable Learning Georgia – both at the system level, and in the enthusiastic proposals we receive from USG institutions,” said Lucy Harrison, assistant vice chancellor for academic library services and executive director of GALILEO. “One in five classes taught across the university system now offer free or low-cost course materials, and we’re proud of the part we’ve played in helping to make that happen.”

Thirteen USG institutions submitted 34 proposals. Of these, 23 proposals—on topics including analytics, sociology and more—from 11 USG institutions were awarded grants from $2,800 to $30,000 apiece. Kennesaw State University saw the highest number of projects awarded at 7, with a total of $139,400 in grant funding.

Six of the projects awarded are part of ALG’s new effort to scale open educational resources (OER) to entire departments. Georgia State University led the way in savings for students in this category, with a yearly estimated savings of $225,000 for students in the sociology department and an estimated $120,900 in savings for students in the entrepreneurship and innovation department.

Since its inception, the grant program has awarded nearly $5.6 million in funds to support adoption, adaption and creation of no- or low-cost learning materials in USG courses.

To learn more about grant winners and to apply for the next round of grants, visit ALG’s website. The deadline to apply is April 6.

Round 16 Grant Awardees

• Albany State University - $30,000 (Project Lead: Zephyrinus Okonkwo)

• Clayton State University - $4,800 (Project Lead: Susan McFarlane-Alvarez)

• Columbus State University - $30,000 (Project Lead: William Muse)

• Columbus State University - $12,800 (Project Lead: Houbin Fang)

• Georgia Gwinnett College - $10,800 (Project Lead: Skanda Vivek)

• Georgia Gwinnett College - $4,800 (Project Lead: Beth Mauldin)

• Georgia Highlands College - $4,800 (Project Lead: Tara Suswal)

• Georgia Institute of Technology - $4,800 (Project Lead: Aselia Urmanbetova)

• Georgia Southern University - $29,922 (Project Lead: Priya Goeser)

• Georgia Southern University - $10,800 (Project Lead: Christine Whitlock)

• Georgia Southern University - $4,800 (Project Lead: Rebecca Collins)

• Georgia State University - $30,000 (Project Lead: Jung Ha Kim)

• Georgia State University - $29,016 (Project Lead: Geoffrey Graybeal)

• Kennesaw State University - $30,000 (Project Lead: Sarah North)

• Kennesaw State University - $30,000 (Project Lead: Rebecca Rutherfoord)

• Kennesaw State University - $30,000 (Project Lead: Daniel Farr)

• Kennesaw State University - $11,800 (Project Lead: Lin Li)

• Kennesaw State University - $4,800 (Project Lead: Meng Han)

• Kennesaw State University - $2,800 (Project Lead: Uttam Kokil)

• Kennesaw State University/University of North Georgia - $30,000 (Project Lead: Ulrike Ingram)

• Savannah State University - $4,800 (Project Lead: Lisa Yount)

• Savannah State University - $2,800 (Project Lead: Sherry Serdikoff)

• University of North Georgia - $4,800 (Project Lead: Tashia Caughran)