(Delaware and Chester Counties, PA • September 12, 2016)—Delaware County Community College has received a grant totaling $10,000 to expand student and faculty access to course materials through the use of open educational resources and open textbooks. The goal of the project is to strengthen student success by reducing or eliminating costs and the financial burden of higher education by utilizing instructional materials that are open and available to all rather than align a course with a commercially produced, high-cost textbook. 

The project will be led by Assistant Professor Michael LaMagna, Ed.D. Project participants will include library faculty members working collaboratively with business faculty members to review and select materials that align to the Introduction to Business course selected for this pilot.  Selected resource materials will be integrated into the course syllabus by providing students with easy access through the College’s online portal. Additionally, librarians will provide information literacy sessions to assist students with accessing open textbooks and other open educational resources. An ongoing assessment component will enable faculty and librarians to develop best practices and continuous improvements for replication into other courses. 

Funding for the project is provided by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through a program established by the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) to develop library services throughout the States. Pennsylvania’s funding is administered through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries.

For more information about the project, calls can be directed to Susan Shisler Rapp, Director of Grants Management, at 610-359-5040.