Goal: KSUL seeks to advance efforts to help students save money and avoid costs related to course materials. This initiative involves supporting the creation and adoption of open educational resources (OERs), connecting faculty and students to already licensed resources, and promoting pathways and practices to free or low-cost resources.

Textbook Affordability Reporting

Objective:
Implement a new data collection method to increase known OER usage by KSU faculty for FY25 by 10% in time for the state efficiency report (November).

Strategy 1: Develop and administer a brief survey for KSU faculty system-wide.

Tactics:

• Develop survey (done Oct 25)
• Consult with Provost (done Sep 25)
• Consult with Faculty Senate (done Sep 25)
• Test survey (done Oct 25)
• Draft email and FAQ for survey administration (done Oct 25)
• Work with Provost’s office to disseminate (done Oct 25)

Strategy 2: Reach out to librarians and ask them to report directly what they know faculty have been doing with OERs.

Tactics:

• Send email to UL Everyone asking for known OER adoptions (done Sep 25).

Results: Combined strategies resulted in data showing that during FY25 KSU faculty assigned OERs in 171 course sections. 130 of these assigned no materials for cost. This data has been included in our state efficiency report.

171 is an increase of 104 (155% increase) from FY24.

Textbook Affordability Reporting 2.0

Objective:
Collaborate with Barnes & Noble to update the textbook adoption form to include the data points needed for our state efficiency report (OER adoptions with or without for purchase materials and courses with no materials assigned). We hope to accomplish this by end of Spring 2026 and have it in production by Fall 2027. We aim increase known OER adoptions by 10% by Spring 2027.

Strategy 1: Collaborate with Student Life leadership and Barnes & Noble to revised adoption form. (They committed to this during the RFP process).

Tactics:

• Meet with Student Life leadership.
• Meet with Student Life and Barnes and Noble.
• Consult with Provost.
• Submit needed fields.
• Review updated form from Barnes & Noble.
• Share with faculty senate.
• Pilot new form.
• Put new form into production.

Pilot Course Reading List Tool (Leganto)

Objective:
Pilot the Ex Libris Leganto Reading List Tool, which integrates with Canvas, during the spring semester with 5-10 faculty (thereby providing student access to course materials at no cost to them) and assess their experience

Strategies:

1. Recruit faculty to participate in the pilot
   
   Tactics:
   • Analyze reserves/Ares data for possible candidates
   • Appeal to ULFSAC
   • Engage with Kent State Online for recruitment
   • Send engagement emails to possible candidates
   • Invite candidates to brown bag lunch & learn (optional)
      
2. Train and mentor pilot faculty using Course Reading List Tool
   
   Tactics:
   • Hands-on sessions with faculty and instructional designers
   • Curate list of asynchronous instructional tools
   • Regular check-ins with faculty during semester
   • Create pilot cohort and hold networking sessions to share experiences
      
3. Assess pilot faculty experience
   
   Tactics:
   • Develop qualitative survey to use to interview faculty
   • Develop success metrics for measuring affordability impact

Rollout Leganto Campus-wide

Objective:
Reach an adoption level of the Leganto reading list tool of at least 50 faculty and/or(?) 100 courses by the end of 26-27 academic year.

Strategies:

1. Develop a campus-wide implementation plan
   
   Tactics:
   • Hold show and tell sessions with pilot faculty (as co-presenters with library staff)
   • Develop a communication strategy to reach faculty
   • Partner with instructional designers to promote
      
2. Train SRS librarians and other front-line staff
   
   Tactics:
   • Hands-on sessions with librarians and instructional designers
   • Develop an outreach toolkit
      
3. Develop appropriate Resource Sharing workflows in Alma
   
   Tactics:
   • Create digitization forms
   • Develop departmental workflow
   • Create department service level metrics (i.e. turnaround expectations)

Affordability Dashboard

Objective:
Develop and implement a prototype for a public-facing dashboard on the KSUL website highlighting key metrics, progress, and resources related to course affordability.

Example Dashboards: Purdue & U of Akron

Strategies:

1. Make decisions on how to count OER usage and how to monetize each instance of use by end of summer 2026.
   
   Tactics:
   • Review previous report.
   • Engage with literature on topic.
   • Explore what other libraries are using to monetize savings.
      
2. Identify at least three existing/usable datasets to start building a dashboard by the end of spring 2026.
   
   Tactics:
   • OER survey results from Fall 2025
   • Look at and pull course reserve data.
   • List of core textbooks and enrollments.
      
3. Design and develop dashboard prototype by end of fall 2026.
   
   Tactics:
   • Look at Springshare Dashboard functionality.
   • Review Springshare help, documentation, and tutorials on how to create a dashboard.
   • Consider other possible dashboard platforms.
   • Explore what other libraries are using for dashboard.
      
4. Develop procedures for updating and increasing data streams into dashboard in spring of 2027.
   
   Tactics:
   • Map out what additional affordability data should be included in dashboard.
   • Create regular process for updating data within dashboard.
   • Brainstorm additional list of partners (CTL, Bookstore, etc.)

Develop an Affordability/OER Champion Award

Objective:
Develop pilot award program recognizing faculty who have adopted/adapted OER for courses. This will also serve as a “sales pitch” to faculty for doing this. This inaugural award will be announced in the spring of 2026 at the UL sponsored Faculty Club.

Strategies:

1. Create OER Adopt/Adapt Award
   
   Tactics
   • Define the OER Adopt/Adapt Award
     • Early January 2026
   • Monetary - how much can we afford from Foundation account?
   • Badges (Credly) for “vita vittles”
   • Criteria for OER Adopt/Adapt Award
     • Early January 2026
   • Create rubric for award
   • Develop online form for award submissions
     • Early January 2026
   • Consider reaching out to OhioLINK Course Redesign Grantees to apply for award
   • Look to other awards given on campus for inspiration
   • ORSA - https://www.kent.edu/research/research-development/outstanding-research-and-scholarship-awards-nominations
   • Teaching Recognition - https://www.kent.edu/ctl/teaching-recognition-awards
      
2. Create Publicity for Award
   
   Tactics
   • Work with Communications Team
   • Create a logo for the award that is recognizable as being Kent State + Textbook Affordability
   • Engage with Cynthia about Library PR methods
   • Publicity for Award Call for nominations
     • Late January/early February 2026
       • Web page carousel item
       • Kent State Today
       • Essential Library
       • All Faculty email
       • Social media
   • Announcements of winners
     • Late spring 2026 – UL Faculty Club
       • Web page carousel item
       • Kent State Today
       • Essential Library
       • Social media
   • Interviews with winners that can be used a variety of ways
     • Summer 2026
     • YouTube videos
     • Longer articles reaching a broad audience
     • Essential Library
        
3. Assess the award process and consider expansion of OER Champion Award categories and committee
   
   Tactics
   • Late Summer 2026
     • Evaluate rubric for future use
     • Make modifications if necessary
   • Assess promotional process for award
     • In the application form for the award, add a question on how they heard about this award
     • How many clicks did our Essential Library story get
   • Consider additional categories to award
     • Create new rubrics for different awards
     • Writing/Creation award
     • Use of Alternative Materials such as library resources including Leganto course reserves, public domain works, with or without an OER
     • Consider undergraduate/graduate level awards
   • Solicit additional committee members from university community
     • Fall 2026
       • Recruit a CTL staff member
       • Find a student representative to serve, starting with the UL Student Advisory Council
       • Find a faculty member willing to serve from the pool of faculty who responded to Ken’s survey or from the 2022 OER/ALM Grant Awardees
       • Solicit previous awardee to serve on next committee