VCU Libraries, in support of open and affordable course materials across the VCU community, announces a new round of VIVA Open Grants. These grants are designed to empower Virginia faculty with the resources and time they need to redesign courses by swapping expensive course materials for open, no cost, or library options. 

Applications are due November 5, 2025. 

The program includes two categories of grants supporting different types of Virginia’s textbook affordability work: adoption of existing open course materials and creation of new open course materials. Each grant type has its own funding scale and differing expectations and timelines:

•  VIVA Open Adopt Grants ($2,000) VIVA Open Adopt Grants support individuals as they transition to pre-existing Open Educational Resources (OER). Proposed projects may involve adopting a single OER or a group of resources. Associated courses must be credit-bearing, and instructors must commit to providing VIVA with a final report and an openly licensed syllabus. Any materials created with this funding must be openly licensed and made available for feature on VIVA Open, VIVA’s OER repository. 
• VIVA Open Creation Grants ($15,000-$50,000) support teams as they create high quality materials for credit-bearing courses at VIVA institutions. Proposed projects should address an area of need in open education, result in significant student cost avoidance, create course materials and methods that are replicable in other courses and classrooms, and are pedagogically innovative. Grant recipients create course materials and then work with VIVA to publish them in a professional and accessible format. All materials must be piloted in the recipients’ classrooms, peer reviewed, copyedited, and accessibility checked by VIVA publishing, as well as eligible for other publishing services, including design and typesetting.

VIVA, Virginia’s Academic Library Consortium, administers the grant program. Awardees will receive ongoing support from VIVA staff to complete their projects. More information about the grant, including the full Request for Proposals, application guidance, and the application form are available on the VIVA Open Course Grants website. 

VCU faculty have been very involved in VIVA Open Grants over the years. A list of past grant recipients can be found on the VIVA Open Grant Awards website, including 14 projects involving VCU faculty. 

Katy Hanngi, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Focused Inquiry, was awarded a 2025 Open Creation Grant, with a team of faculty from the Focused Inquiry department to create new course materials for UNIV 111 and UNIV 200. This project is expected to impact over 6000 students each academic year. Hanggi says, “Focused Inquiry is excited to have a VIVA open content award. Replacing our textbook will save VCU students $95,000 annually. The VIVA staff has been wonderful to work with, providing guides and information up front to help us know what we need to do at each stage of the process.”

Maurice Brown, Ph.D., instructor of Business, was awarded a 2025 Adopt Grant for BUSN 212, Business Problem Solving and Analysis. For Brown, this award gets to the core of why he teaches: “The ultimate goal of an educator isn’t simply to teach, it’s to advocate for learning as a lifelong process. It’s about transforming the way people absorb knowledge, process it critically, and apply it to strengthen both society and community. True education is not confined to the classroom; it is lived through purpose, innovation, and service. VIVA creates the space for educators to step beyond traditional boundaries, to lead with clarity, creativity, and care, and to fully embrace their calling as catalysts for change.” 

VCU Libraries will assist faculty in conceptualizing their projects and completing their applications. Interested faculty should contact Open Educational Resources Librarian Abbey Childs at childsam@vcu.edu. 

VIVA will also hold informational webinars, with question-and-answer sessions, held at the following times. Registration is required and registration forms are linked: 

• October 15, 2:00 pm
• October 24, 10:00 am

Additional information on open and affordable course content at VCU can be found at go.vcu.edu/textbooksavings.