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5X���� understands the financial impact course materials have on students and is taking measures to reduce those costs to Golden Flashes. University Libraries hosted the 2024 Affordable Course Materials Summit, the fourth of its kind, aiming to promote the use of inexpensive course materials among faculty.  

The event, held Oct. 11 in the library’s Harrick Garden Room and simultaneously streamed online, showcased the different course material options available to faculty for use in their courses that can benefit students financially.  

Cindy Kristof, associate professor and copyright and scholarly communication librarian, organized the summit focused on opportunities, which, she acknowledged, aren’t always intuitive.

“It’s just not all laid out in a nice and neat formation, and so it can be a challenge for faculty to get around to doing and having the time to do it,” Kristof told Kent State Today. “These affordable summits are to get faculty together to demonstrate how they did or how they are doing it for their class.”  

Kristof said University Libraries offers consultation for professors who desire to adopt Open Educational Resources for their classes. This can be done through an analysis of the class syllabus, the learning outcomes and the main topics addressed.  

“We try to encourage faculty to look at an alternative to a traditional commercial textbook, we try to get them to find out if there’s an OER out there that’s already existing that they might be able to adopt for their course.”

Ken Burhanna, dean of University Libraries, opened the event with two main messages for the attendees. First, he emphasized the importance of those in attendance to spread the word about the different resources available to faculty. Second, Burhanna emphasized that this mission promotes equity among students.  

“This is helping students who have fewer resources or have maybe disadvantaged preparation to be put on a more level playing ground with other students,” Burhanna said. “The research demonstrates that it does have an impact and helps them succeed at a higher rate, and that students who have clear access to resources, preferably at a lower cost, succeed at a higher level, they withdraw less often from courses, and they get better grades, plus saving money.”

The Summit brought a range of professionals who adapted Affordable Course Materials and Open Educational Resources to their classrooms to share their experiences and perspectives with it. The event had a student panel and nine speakers with more than 20 attendees. The topics covered by the speakers included the use of Kent State’s LibreTexts, changes AI will bring to education, academic freedom, the production of Open Educational Resources for a classroom and the learning outcomes from using these materials.  

Donald Gerbig Jr., Ph.D., associate professor, and Kurtis Eisermann, Ph.D., assistant professor, both from the College of Arts and Sciences at 5X���� at Tuscarawas, created their own materials. This laboratory guide they created was designed to assist their Anatomy for Veterinary Technician's class. The material was shaped according to students’ needs. Using an OER allowed the professors to explore specific topics their students had more difficulty with.

Gerbig and Eisermann’s students also helped produce the guide by providing illustrations and photos that accompany the text.  

“Students get excited to be a part of it, to have their photos being used and getting the credit for it,” said Gerbig. “Their names will be out there still in a few years because they are getting the accreditation for it. I think it is a hidden gem.”

Ikram Toumi, Ph.D., associate professor in the School of Communication Studies, changed the textbook for her Intercultural Communication course to OER. Toumi said that there are various OER options for her class purposes. When she first adopted the OER material, she used it for only one of the course sections.  

“At the end of the semester, I could compare both the learning outcomes from each class. The results were very similar,” said Toumi. “Students using the OER were getting the same results as the ones using the textbook.”