NMC students pocketed an extra $137,000 this semester thanks to instructors using free and low-cost textbooks.
Led by Osterlin Library director Tina Ulrich, NMC is piloting an experiment in Open Educational Resources this semester. Ten instructors were selected to receive a stipend of either $500 or an iPad — provided by an NMC Foundation innovation grant — as an incentive to redesign their courses using free textbooks and other resources, often found online.
In the process, Ulrich discovered other instructors already using OERs or low-cost textbooks. In total, NMC has 17 instructors she calls “textbook heroes” teaching 880 students in subjects ranging from math to English to history to social work.