About

Affordable Instructional Resources was formed in the fall of 2017 as a collaboration between the Office of the Provost, the University Libraries, Northwestern Information Technology, the Northwestern Bookstore, and the Faculty Senate.

We are interested in issues related to access and inclusion in higher education, specifically focused on the supplemental costs of a Northwestern education. We recognize the challenges in balancing quality and cost when selecting required materials for courses and aim to provide systematic support to faculty in making their courses more affordable.

Impact Report

AIR in the News

Two Upcoming Grant Opportunities Empower Creation of More Open Educational Resources by Lauren McKeen McDonald, Northwestern Libraries Blog (January 2022)

Between the Shelves: Affordable Access by Yurui Wu, North by Northwestern Magazine (Fall 2021)

Latest OER grant projects expected to save 1,300 students $247,000 by Lauren McKeen, Northwestern Libraries Blog (May 2021)

Busted: Top 5 myths about OER by Lauren McKeen, Northwestern Libraries Blog (March 2020)

Northwestern Faculty Senate talks Affordable Instructional Resources, remote learning in Spring Quarter by Isabelle Sarraf, The Daily Northwestern (March 2020)

How to Create Multilevel, Co-authored OER, or ‘Writing Nice, Free Textbooks with Friends’ by Rachel Goc, The Canvas Post (February 2020)

Apply for an Open Educational Resources Development Grant by Chris Diaz, Northwestern Libraries Blog (January 2020)

How OER eliminates the cost and copyright barriers of textbooks by Chris Diaz, Northwestern Libraries Blog (October 2019)

Pilot OER Grant Program to save students $179K in first year by Lauren McKeen, Northwestern Libraries Blog (May 2019)