Open Access & Affordable Learning Solutions (AL$)

AB 798, Otherwise known as the College Textbook Affordability Act of 2015. was approved by Governor Brown on October 15, 2015.  It establishes the following:

• The Open Educational Resources Adoption Incentive Program (OERAIP) is created to provide incentives and reward campus, staff, and faculty efforts to accelerate the adoption of open educational resources in the CSU system and the CA community college system.
• Specified moneys for the OERAIP will be used by campuses to create and support faculty and staff professional development, open educational resource curation activities, curriculum modification, or technology support for faculty, staff, and students.

The full text of the law lists the requirements that will go along with the grants, and we highly recommend everyone take a look at it.  It is a short read.  The full text of the law along with the analysis, history, votes, and more can be found at:
 http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB798​

More information coming soon!

Contact Tracey Mayfield, Associate Dean of the University Library with any questions!

AB 798 authorizes local academic senates of the campuses of the California State University or the California Community Colleges to

(A) adopt local campus resolutions to increase student access to high-quality open educational resources and reduce the cost of textbooks and supplies for students, and

(B) upon adoption of the resolutions, develop specified plans, in collaboration with students and their respective administrations, that describe evidence of the campus’ commitment and readiness to spend grant money from the fund to support faculty adoption of open educational resources.

From there, require the California Open Education Resources Council would review and approve the submitted plans, and, if they meet these and other specified requirements, the Council would authorize the Chancellor of the California State University to award an initial grant of up to $50,000 to the specific campuses from the fund.

The bill would require additional bonus grants to be distributed to participating campuses if certain benchmarks are met. The bill would cap the number of initial grants that may be approved by the California Open Education Resources Council each award year at 100.

The bill would require the California Digital Open Source Library, also known as the California Open Online Library for Education, in consultation with the Intersegmental Committee of Academic Senates, to report to the Legislature before September 1 of each year, commencing in 2018, as to whether the grants are increasing the rate of adoption of open educational resources and decreasing textbook costs for college students.

Descriptions of the law and what it will do paraphrased and sometimes copies liberally directly from:
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB798