1. Open Education
  2. Affordable Course Materials
  3. Leading Impact Program

Affordable Course Materials Leading Impact Program

The Affordable Course Materials (ACM) Leading Impact Program supports and recognizes individual faculty, as well as entire academic departments in their adoption, adaption, and creation of Open Educational Resources (OER) in their courses. Each year the program supports activities that lead to decreasing the costs of course materials for our students. Spending less money on required learning materials is one step toward making college more affordable, and therefore more equitable. The ACM program is a result of the efforts from the Northern Illinois University Course Materials Affordability Taskforce (Taskforce).

ACM Awards Program

This program recognizes departments and individual faculty who consistently offer courses that use low or zero cost materials.

Department Recognition

Departments offering the highest percentage of course sections using low ($40 or less) or zero cost course materials in the academic year will be recognized and receive a financial award. Recipients may choose to donate the award back to the ACM Awards and Stipend Program. Percentages are determined by the number of department courses in MyNIU with the low or zero cost course attributes and the total number of courses offered by the department. Awards will be dispersed by the mid-semester break of the spring term.

Note: Previous department awardees must increase their percentage by 10% or more, and attain the highest percentage of low or zero cost course materials in MyNIU, to receive recognition again.

  • Departmental Achievement: The highest percentage of course sections in the academic year using low or zero cost course materials. The department receives $2,000 and a framed certificate.
  • Departmental Honorable Mention: The second highest percentage of course sections in the academic year using low or zero cost course materials. The department receives $1,000 and a framed certificate.
  • Departmental Outstanding Effort: The third highest percentage of course sections in the academic year using low or zero cost course materials. The department receives $500 and a framed certificate.

View Department Award Winners

ACM Faculty Recognition List

Faculty who consistently teach with low or zero cost materials courses (at least two consecutive semesters or spring and fall terms) are recognized on NIU’s Open Education Website with special recognition for those faculty who taught low or zero cost materials courses for 2 or more years and/or two or more courses.

View Faculty Recognition List

ACM Integration Cohort

The 2024-2026 cohort will focus on developing OER and/or open ancillary materials for 11 high-impact undergraduate courses. The Affordable Course Materials cohort is currently funded by a Secretary of State/Illinois State Library grant.

Look for the next ACM Integration Cohort application period in fall of 2026.

Applications are submitted to the Course Materials Affordability Taskforce (Taskforce) for consideration by a review panel comprised of a subcommittee of members of the Taskforce and past award winners, chaired by the co-chairs of the taskforce. This review committee selects the cohort members.

Those selected for the cohort receive a one-time stipend after meeting all participation requirements, including implementing OER in their course, as well as measuring the impact. Cohort members are asked to present at an upcoming event, such as a panel; or share their experience through another form of communication.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposed projects will be evaluated on:

  • Total projected savings for NIU students (based on the cost of previously required course materials).
  • Anticipated enrollment for the course (based on previous semester enrollments). Include the number of course sections that will use the materials, if applicable.
  • Preference will be given to applications for high-enrollment course (50 students or more per section or courses with multiple sections that add up to 50+ students per semester).

Participation Requirements

Upon acceptance, participants commit to the following:

  • Attendance at monthly meetings to learn how to locate, access, evaluate, and integrate low or zero cost materials into their courses.
  • Incorporation of practices that address diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
  • Replacement of required course materials that students pay for with materials that result in a total cost for course-related materials of $40 or less. A previous course syllabus with the required texts must be included with the application.
  • Implementation of the ACM syllabus in a course for an entire academic year or two consecutive semesters of the course being offered. Courses will be designed as low-cost or zero cost in MyNIU. The use of low cost or zero cost materials in more than one section is encouraged to enable widespread adoption and to increase the impact on students.
  • Completion of a faculty survey.
  • Oversight and submission of a student survey.
  • Participation in the collection of de-identified student impact data.
  • Participation in an affordable course materials presentation on campus (for example, a CITL workshop or panel at the Online Teaching Symposium).
  • Funds will be disbursed to participants upon completion of the project.

Cohort Frequently Asked Questions

For my course, a new textbook from the NIU bookstore exceeds $40, but in the past, used copies that cost less than $40 have been available. Is this sufficient to have the course designated as low cost for students?
From an equity perspective, as many students rely on using their financial aid to purchase textbooks from the NIU bookstore and there isn't a guarantee moving forward that used copies of the textbook would be available for all students, this specific course wouldn't qualify for the low-cost course designation. 
If a required text is available as an ebook through the library, does this qualify as a low-cost or zero-cost course?
If the ebook is available through the library AND has an unlimited simultaneous user license, then the course would qualify as low-cost or zero-cost. However, keep in mind that ebooks are subject to publisher discretion, and they may decide to withdraw access from library collections with no or short notice. Please refer to the table below regarding stable access to electronic resources.  
How do I determine if a library resource is accessible and affordable?

One way to evaluate library resources as required course materials is to consider their stability of access and affordability for students. Open Educational Resources are considered to have very stable access and affordability, while Textbooks (print or electronic) have very stable access but are often not affordable. Here are how the university librarians rate library resources.  

  • Library ebooks (unlimited users) have somewhat stable access and are very affordable 
  • Library articles (via databases) have somewhat stable access and are very affordable
  • Library e-Reserves have stable access and are very affordable
  • Library Print Reserves have limited stable access and are somewhat affordable
If a required text for a course is available from the library through course reserves, does this qualify as low-cost or zero-cost?
If all materials for a course are available through library collections so that all students in the course have simultaneous access, then, yes, the course would qualify for the no-cost course designation. So, this would include articles available through library databases, ebooks with unlimited user access, or materials available through electronic reserves. However, required materials that are only available through the library’s print reserves would not qualify, because these items are only available to one student at a time for two hours within the library.

Department and Faculty Recognition Frequently Asked Questions

Do departments need to apply to be recognized for the ACM Awards?
No, departments do not need to apply to be recognized. Percentages are determined by the number of departmental courses in MyNIU with low or zero cost course attributes and the total number of courses offered by the department.  Therefore, departments should ensure that course schedulers are designating relevant courses as low-cost and/or zero-cost course materials courses.   
I have been using low-cost or zero-cost course materials in my courses for several semesters. Is there a way for me to be recognized for my efforts prior to the University’s initiative?
Faculty who have already adopted low or zero cost course materials can be recognized on our faculty recognition page. Faculty may also work with their scheduler to have their courses designated as low or zero cost courses in MyNIU. The designation for these courses allows students to search for low or zero courses.

Contact Us

Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning

Phone: 815-753-0595
Email: citl@niu.edu

University Libraries

Phone: 815-753-1995
Email: lib-admin@niu.edu