Affordable Course Materials Initiative

This UCLA Library initiative incentivizes instructors to use low-cost or free alternatives to expensive course materials; these can include open-access scholarly resources, Library-licensed and owned resources, and learning objects and texts that faculty create themselves. 

• five awards of $1,000 each for instructors teaching courses with enrollments of fewer than two hundred students
• two awards of $2,500 each for instructors teaching courses with enrollment of more than two hundred students.

These modest yet significant sums are meant to offer an incentive for the time it will take instructors to identify new resources, adjust syllabi, and modify assignments and can also be used to cover any actual expenses incurred by the instructor.

The initiative has been endorsed by the Office of the UCLA Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost and the UCLA Academic Senate.

Background

The high price of course materials, including but not limited to textbooks, is a major concern to students and parents; a web page on UCLA’s undergraduate admissions site estimates it will total $1,173 per student for the upcoming academic year. Legislative action to address these costs have been taken by the U.S. Congress and the California Legislature. The UCLA Store has taken steps to lower textbook prices, and USAC has created a textbook lending library, but the problem resists easy, unilateral solutions.

Some years ago, the UCLA Library launched a collaborative project with USAC and the UCLA Store that continues to lower the cost of printed course readers by leveraging Library-licensed/owned materials. Expanding upon this high-outcome/low-cost effort, the Library has identified a larger role it can play in lowering the cost of course materials, adapted from similar programs created by Temple University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In addition to better integrating UCLA Library collections and services into instruction, this initiative strives to work with UCLA faculty to more effectively make their scholarly articles, books, and instructional resources available to students and colleagues through open access.

Eligibility to Submit an Application

Each applicant must be the instructor of record. Courses must be for enrolled students (i.e., not UCLA Extension courses) and can be at the undergraduate or graduate level.

Application Process and Deadlines

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Applicants should complete and submit the linked form: ACMI Application.If you prefer to complete the application as a Word or PDF document, please email the completed document to: acmi@library.ucla.edu.

Applicants will receive confirmation notices when their application forms are received.

All applicants are also required to attend a one-hour workshop at which Library staff members will introduce search strategies and possible sources for open-access or low-cost instructional resources. Following that workshop, each awardee will be assigned an individual librarian, who will work personally with him or her to assist with locating materials.

Current application deadlines and additional information are available on the Library's main ACMI page. 

Applications will be reviewed by a small committee for alignment with ACMI objectives and the Library's ability to assist in improving the course through ACMI. 

Contact Information

For further information, contact:

Jennifer Chan
Scholarly Communication Librarian
Phone: 310.206.3388
Email: acmi@library.ucla.edu

Click on either link below to recieve the same form in different formats.

To explain the basics of copyright and lay out some best practices, one of our librarians has created a CCLE course called "Copyright Basics for Instructors." Anyone with a CCLE account can self enroll anytime by clicking on the link below, and if prompted for an enrollment key, entering the word copyright.