VCU Libraries invites applications for the tenth round of annual awards to support faculty adoption of no-cost resources and creation or customization of openly-licensed alternatives to expensive textbooks for use in VCU classrooms. 

Applications are due no later than April 3. 

See the program website for more information and application materials. Please reach out with any questions to the Open Educational Resources Librarian Abbey Childs, at childsam@vcu.edu. 

The Affordable Course Content Awards (ACCA) support faculty in providing no-cost course materials to their students by providing funding, hands-on project support and providing faculty development on the open publishing process and open educational practices. Funding varies depending on the project’s scale. Awards are typically between $1000-$2000 for small, individual course projects and up to $15,000 for large, departmental projects.  

“We are so excited to announce our tenth cycle of the Affordable Course Content Awards,” said Open Educational Resources Librarian Abbey Childs, “This program has supported faculty across all disciplines at VCU in the creation and adoption of free, openly licensed course materials, tailored to their unique course needs. We’ve been able to provide better learning experiences for VCU students and save them millions of dollars that they would have otherwise spent on textbooks. We look forward to supporting the next cohort of ACCA faculty to continue to grow the impact of the program and of open education here at VCU.”

The VCU Libraries Open and Affordable Course Content initiative has impacted more than 160,000 VCU students and saved them more than $15.2 million dollars. The Affordable Course Content Awards program is made possible in part by The Barbara Ford Endowment of the 21st Century Fund and The Friends of VCU Libraries.