Chico State students pay several hundred dollars for textbooks and supplies every semester, in each of their courses, on top of tuition and fees. There is a growing interest among faculty to adopt lower cost (or even free) learning solutions to help remove financial barriers for students who sometimes forego purchasing course materials in order to meet their basic needs. The Chico Affordable Learning Solutions (CAL$) website has several suggestions to decrease costs of course materials while retaining quality and rigor. Reducing course costs can help narrow equity gaps while improving graduations rates for all students.
If you’re interested in locating (or even creating your own) high-quality low-cost course materials, Apply Here to the CAL$ Fall Workshop series by October 15. Faculty who attend three different one-hour workshops (see attached details) and implement a cost-savings strategy for students in their Spring 2020 course(s) will earn both a CAL$ Training Certificate and $400 (paid in Spring 2020). Applications from faculty who teach high-enrollment, high cost, and/or GE courses are especially encouraged. Workshop titles and payment details can be found on the CAL$ FA19 Memorandum of Understanding. If you have questions, please contact Beth Shook or Edward Roualdes .
