Affordable Course Transformation- ACT@PSU

Introduction

Affordable Course Transformation, ACT, is a grant-based, affordable course transformation program for faculty teaching at all Penn State locations who want to transform a course to displace high cost published materials. Teaching and Learning with Technology Innovation and University libraries will work with faculty to replace high cost course materials with pedagogically sound open and affordable (under $50.00) content. Faculty will receive a monetary grant (multiple faculty working together will receive equal division of the total amount of the award), library, multimedia, and instructional design support, and assistance in production of affordable/open content.

Synopsis

This call for proposals is for faculty across all Penn State Campuses to provide course transformation grants funded by the Provost. ACT Grants may be used for, but not limited to:

  • Adaptation of Open Textbooks or Open Educational Resources
  • Authoring of Open Textbooks or Open Educational Resources

 

Faculty who are accepted into the ACT Program will:

  • Participate in a blended cohort faculty development program. This program will be customized to the individual needs of the faculty member for their specific project.  Some examples of what they will experience includes: guidance and instruction on best practices in finding, adapting and authoring open and affordable course materials as well as revising their course to accommodate the open and low-cost resources, and licensing open content.
  • Adapt and/or author open/affordable content.
  • Deliver their course using the affordable/open resources.
  • Survey their students regarding the experience of using affordable/open resources in their course.
  • Participate in writing a final report and/or white paper on their project.
  • Optional: Present at a local or national conference regarding their experience.

 

Faculty who are accepted into the ACT Program will have the option to  receive:

  • A grant distributed in three increments throughout the program. Please note: if multiple faculty apply to collaboratively work on a project, the grant award will be divided equally among them.
  1. The first award will be granted after their participation in the faculty development program.
  2. The second for the completion of adapting or authoring open/affordable content
  3. The third for revising their course to accommodate the open/affordable content and delivering the revised course.
  • Instructional design support to align course goals and lesson objectives with content, assignments, and assessments.
  • Production support in adapting and authoring open/affordable content.
  • Library support in finding and licensing adapted/authored open content.
  • Research team support in assessing student success with the open/affordable content in the revised course.

Criteria for a Successful Proposal

A successful proposal will have the following:

  • A consultation prior to submitting your application
  • A completed online application (Application is open for Round 3 on September 25, 2019)
  • Current Syllabus
  • Demonstration of Impact including but not limited to:
    • Increasing Affordability
    • Enhanced learning experiences
    • Willingness to dedicate to time and effort to the project
    • Creative and unique approaches

Following Acceptance into the Program you will need:

  • A letter of administrative approval for participation
  • A signed letter of agreement

Project Requirements

For funding to be released according the disbursement schedule, each ACT milestone must be met on time. These project milestones are:

  1. Participation in the ACT Faculty Development program
  2. Completion of the adaptation or authoring open/affordable content project
  3. Revising the course to accommodate the open/affordable content
  4. Delivering the revised course in the agreed upon time frame.

Review and Selection Process

Evaluation, selection, and grant awards are determined by an internal review committee against a rubric based on the set of criteria listed above, as well as the degree of impact (financial savings as well as impact on overall course experience) your proposed project will have on students at Penn State.

Round Three

Third round of ACT@PSU Grant Projects
Faculty Member(s)Campus(s)Type of ProjectCourse
William MeyerowitzAbingtonAdaptIST 301
Jo Ann JankoskiFayetteAdaptHDFS 414
Roy RobsonAbingtonAdaptHIST 011
Lolita PaffBerksAuthorACCTG 211
Stephanie Winkeljohn BlackHarrisburgAuthorPSYCH 432
Ronald KellySchuykillAuthorCRIMJ 100
Whitney ZimmermanWorld CampusAuthorSTAT 200
Samantha PrinceDickinson Law, CarlisleAuthorEXPSK 909
Larry MusolinoLehigh ValleyAdaptMATH 110
Michelle YarwoodUniversity ParkAuthorPSYCH 425
Robin Yaure
Barrett Scroggs
Mont AltoAdaptHDFS 129

Round Two

Second Round of ACT@PSU Grant Projects
Faculty Member(s)Campus(s)Type of ProjectCourse
Andea PatruccoBeaverAdaptionSCM 301
Eshani LeeHazletonAdaptionCHEM 110
Josh WedeUniversity ParkAdaption PSYCH 100
Margaret Signorella
Jennifer Croyle
Brandywine/Greater AlleghenyAdaptionPSYCH 221
Robert LoebDuboisAdaptionBIOL 110
Rosemary MartinelliGreater AlleghenyAdaptionCOMM 370
Tami MysliwiecBerksAdaptionMICROB 201
Alfredo JimenezHazletonAuthoring Math 140
Jacob Moore
Joan Kowalski
Rungun Nathan
Majid Chatsaz
Douglas Miller
Mont Alto
New Kensington
Berks
Scranton
DuBois
Authoring EMCH 212
Renee BorromeoMont AltoAuthoringPT 270
Christopher Palma
Julia Plummer
University ParkAuthoringASTRO 116 & SCI ED116
Joan SmeltzerYorkAuthoringMath 34
Lynn KleesUniversity ParkAuthoringNUTR 100
Molly WertheimerHazletonAuthoringCAS 100C
Victoria KazmerskiErieAuthoringPSYCH 163N
Zachary KlingensmithBehrendAuthoringECON 102 & 104

 

Round One

First Round of ACT@PSU Grant Projects
Faculty Member(s)Campus(s)Type of ProjectCourse
Christopher Martin & Joseph Ranalli Altoona & HazletonAdaptionME 300
Jackie SchwabMont AltoAdaptionBBH 143
Jennifer SlikoHarrisburgAdaption GEOSC 001
Kristen PueschelNew KensingtonAdaptionMATH 220
Kuei-Nuan LinGreater AlleghenyAdaptionMATH 220
Linghao ZhongMont AltoAdaptionCHEM 112
Anita Serrano & Melba AmadorLehigh Valley & New Kensington Authoring SPAN 1, 2, 3
Beth Egan, George Ruth, & Kimberly CooperUniversity ParkAuthoring HM 329 & 330
Jacob Moore Mont AltoAuthoring EMCH 212
Renee BorromeoMont AltoAuthoringPT 270