University of Houston Libraries

UH Libraries, supported by the UH Office of the Provost, offers the Alternative Textbook Incentive Program (ATIP) to support instructors in the adoption of open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP). Since its launch in 2018, ATIP has supported student success by ensuring UH students have free and immediate access to course materials. Now in its sixth award cycle, the program has expanded to include new ways of engaging with open and affordable learning materials through open educational practices (OEP). 

ATIP aligns with the university’s strategic goal to provide a top tier, inclusive educational experience for all students. By removing additional costs associated with commercial course materials or subscription services, ATIP improves access to affordable education. Since its inception, ATIP has impacted over 18,500 UH students, resulting in an estimated $2.5 million in cost savings by eliminating textbook costs. 

ATIP is designed to support projects across two categories of engagement with open and affordable learning materials: textbook affordability and open educational practices. Choose from the two options below. 

Textbook Affordability Proposal 

For a Textbook Affordability proposal, instructors can receive funds to replace required commercial textbooks with a no-cost or low-cost alternative textbook, which may include: 

• Adoption of existing OER, or a combination of OER, library-licensed, and/or freely available resources, or 
• Adaptation or modification of existing OER, or 
• Creation of OER learning objects to supplement existing OER, e.g., assignments, quizzes, lecture slides, lesson plans, videos, etc. 

Awards will range from $1,000 to $5,000. 

This program is not intended to support authorship and publication of new open textbooks. Those interested in publishing open textbooks can indicate their interest to oer@uh.edu to be notified of future opportunities. 

Open Educational Practices Proposal

For an Open Educational Practices proposal, instructors can receive funds for either creating openly licensed learning objects or replacing a traditional assignment with a renewable assignment. Instructors may either:  

• Create and share an OER learning object, e.g., assignments, quizzes, lecture slides, lesson plans, videos, etc.; or  
• Replace traditional assignment(s) with renewable assignment(s)*  

Awards will range from $500 to $2,000. 

* Renewable assignments provide students with opportunities to engage in meaningful work, add value to the world, and provide a foundation for future students to learn from and build upon. Renewable assignments are an alternative to traditional, disposable assignments, which students throw away after they are graded. To learn more, visit the Teaching with Open Pedagogy guide. 

Definition of renewable assignments adapted from Advanced Engagement by Andrea Bearman, licensed with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

All UH instructors of record are eligible for ATIP. 

Accepted Textbook Affordability proposals will replace a required traditional textbook(s) in a course with a no-cost or low-cost alternative textbook, which may include: 

• Adoption, adaptation, or creation of open educational resources (OER) 
• Assembly of library sponsored or freely-available resources 
• A combination of OER, library sponsored or freely-available resources 

Accepted Open Educational Practices proposals will either create an openly licensed learning object OR replace a traditional assignment with a renewable assignment. 

All proposals must describe a new project; existing textbook alternatives or open educational practices already in use by faculty are not eligible for an ATIP award. 

ATIP awards are taxable income and can be used for any purpose. One half will be distributed upon acceptance, and one half will be distributed upon the completion of program expectations, including the submission of the project report. For group applications, award amounts are split evenly between group members unless otherwise requested. 

Instructors will implement alternative textbook materials or open educational practices for a full academic year, beginning in any semester of Academic Year 2024-25.   

• Early application deadline – March 1, 2024 (optional)  
• Final applications due – Friday, March 22, 2024 
• Awardees notified – Early May 2024  
• Adopt alternative textbook or open educational practices – Fall 2024, Spring 2025, or Summer 2025  
• Distribute the provided ATIP Student Survey in each semester the course is offered  
• Submit ATIP report in last semester of ATIP implementation cycle  

The following criteria will be used in selecting awardees and determining award amounts for ATIP awards in each category. 

For Textbook Affordability proposals, the following criteria will be used: 

• Total students impacted: projected enrollment and frequency of course(s) taught  
• Projected cost savings for students: new purchase price for the current required textbook(s) used in the course  
• Type of alternative textbook: preference for OER over library sponsored or freely-available resources online to ensure stability of access to materials  
• Feasibility of successful implementation of plan 
• Cost of alternative textbook: preference for $0 required course materials  
• Type of project: those requiring modification/creation of OER may receive higher funding  
• Contribution to expanding impact on student learning: projects seeking to fill a gap in demographic representation in an existing resource, thereby demonstrating benefits to our diverse student populations represented on our campus 
• Individuals versus groups: group applications may receive higher funding  
• New applicants: preference for instructors who have not been awarded through ATIP previously  
• Overall quality and clarity of application 

For Open Educational Practices proposals, the following criteria will be used:  

• Project goals are well defined and fully developed 
• Feasibility of successful implementation of plan 
• Cost of course materials: preference for $0 required course materials  
• Type of project: creating renewable assignments may receive higher funding  
• Contribution to expanding impact on student learning: projects seeking to fill a gap in demographic representation in an existing resource, thereby demonstrating benefits to our diverse student populations represented on our campus 
• Individuals versus groups: group applications may receive higher funding 
• Overall quality and clarity of application 

• For Textbook Affordability proposals: Replace a required traditional textbook(s) in a course with a no-cost or low-cost alternative textbook, which may include: 
  • Adoption, adaptation, or creation of open educational resources (OER) 
  • Assembly of library sponsored or freely-available resources 
  • A combination of OER, library sponsored or freely-available resources 
• For Open Educational Practices proposals:  
  • Create, openly license, and share new learning object(s) (e.g., assignments, quizzes, lecture slides, lesson plans, videos, etc.), or 
  • Replace a traditional assignment with renewable assignment, and openly license and share renewable assignment 
  • Students must be fully informed and consent to publishing their work openly, and be given option(s) to opt out of openly publishing their work 
• Implement the alternative textbook or open/renewable assignment for a full academic year, beginning in any semester of AY 24-25 
• Meet with the Open Education Services Department at least once to discuss project plan prior to implementation 
• Distribute a survey to students in the course(s) in which the alternative textbooks or open educational practices are implemented 
• Submit an updated syllabus and final project report upon completion of the course that includes: final student enrollment; analysis of student reception of alternative text(s) or open/renewable assignments; and an evaluation of the experience of teaching with alternative textbooks or open educational practices 
• For Textbook Affordability proposals: Report the open or alternative textbook adoption to the UH Bookstore. Adoptions can be reported via Follett Discover. For assistance, please contact Samantha Eades, Course Materials Market Manager.

For original content created as part of ATIP, award recipients are expected to:

• License with an open license (Creative Commons)
• Maximize the accessibility of resources created
• Archive in Cougar ROAR, UH’s open access institutional repository
• Submit to an OER repository, such as OERTX

• Incentive award ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 for Textbook Affordability proposals, or $500 to $2,000 for Open Educational Practices proposals 
• Individual consultations and training resources to support project
• Assistance locating open educational resources and library materials
• Copyright and Creative Commons licensing guidance
• Course Reserves support for making library materials available in Canvas
• Assistance archiving work in Cougar ROAR
• Access to Pressbooks, UH’s platform for OER publishing, and assistance in publishing OER created using Pressbooks

The 2024 application window has closed.

You may preview copies of the application forms below: 

Applicants will be notified of acceptance in May 2024.

If you have questions about the program, please contact oer@uh.edu.

The Open Education Services Department hosted informational sessions to provide an overview of the program and answer questions, and discuss textbook affordability and open educational practices. The recordings and slides are available below:

• ATIP Information Session - Recording | Slides
• ATIP: Spotlight on Textbook Affordability - Recording | Slides
• ATIP: Spotlight on Open Educational Practices - Recording | Slides

If you have questions about the program, please contact oer@uh.edu. 

Some ATIP materials are modified from the Temple University Libraries Textbook Affordability Project.