Course Integrated Instruction

We create opportunities for students to develop transferable skills. Using an experiential and active pedagogical approach, our librarians, archivists, and staff teach the following:

• Data Literacy. Faculty and students can request class training sessions relevant to their coursework and learning outcomes, including understanding data communication, data ethics, managing and cleaning data, use of data tools (e.g., Tableau, ArcGIS, or Python), and data visualization. Contact datahelp@uta.edu.
• Information Literacy. Faculty can request we provide curricula that addresses finding and evaluating information and/or about intellectual property and copyright. Our instructional programs support learning about how information is created, valued, and used. We are happy to collaborate with you to best meet the learning outcomes for your course. Contact your subject librarian.
• Maker Literacy. We collaborate with faculty to integrate making into curricula and assess student acquisition of maker-based competencies. We'll work with you to map maker competencies to your subject-based learning outcomes and develop assignments and assessments. For examples, visit the Maker Literacies website. For more information or to schedule a session, contact Morgan Chivers.
• Tour and Experiential Learning Course Integration Form. Please complete the Tour and Course Integration Form if you would like to speak with an Experiential Learning librarian about integrating library creative technologies and spaces into your UTA course or if you would like for your UTA class to tour our Creative Spaces and Services.

Course Materials

The cost of commercial textbooks and other resource packages, which has increased at an unsustainable rate for decades, demands exploration of alternative publishing and access models. We provide support for finding and using open educational resources (OER), library-licensed content (e-books, scholarly articles, and databases), and electronic reserves to decrease the cost of course materials and increase student success.

Affordable Course Materials

• The cost of textbooks, access codes, and bundles can create significant financial barriers, impeding student success and increasing equity gaps
• Approximately 80% of UTA students have skipped purchase of required course materials
• Students report dropping, failing, and withdrawing from courses due to course material costs
• Students also report enrolling in fewer courses due to course material costs

Visit our Open Educational Resource Guide to get started or contact the OER and Digital Scholarship Department at library-open@listserv.uta.edu for assistance locating affordable resources appropriate for your courses.

Report Free Resource Use

Per state law, students must be able to search the schedule of classes and filter by courses that use OER. If the total cost per student for all required resources in a course is $0, report the course as soon as possible each semester to ensure it is tagged in the schedule of classes.

Report Free Resource Use

Library-Licensed Content

Materials available through library subscriptions (e-books, journal articles, databases) can be used as course materials in place of high-cost commercial textbooks and bundles. Uploading content directly to Canvas is not encouraged. We review usage data to determine which materials to retain and which can be canceled. This data is only captured when a user clicks on the link to the Libraries resource. Therefore, faculty are advised to use permalinks when sharing library-licensed content with students.

 Read More about Linking

Course Reserves

Our Course Reserves service is one of the many ways we support educational affordability and student access. Course materials requested by an instructor are accessible either online as E-Reserves or On-Site reserves, most of which are available through our self-checkout machines.

Read More about Course Reserves

Communicating with Students

If you've adopted OER, library-licensed content, or course reserves in your course(s), it's important to clearly communicate this to students as early as possible. Below is sample language you may include in your syllabi, which you are free to reuse and revise without attribution. It can be helpful to spend a few minutes on the first day of class discussing course materials and clarifying the options available to students for accessing required resources. Learn about how you can make a difference on the Open for UTA Students guide.

Sample Language for OER

"Your textbook for this class is an open educational resource (OER), meaning it is available for free online. You can access the web version of the text from the book's landing page [link text] or from within Canvas. You may visit the book’s landing page to download the text for free in the format that works best for you (including PDF, MOBI, and EPUB). The OER is openly licensed and DRM-free, so you may also print individual chapters or the entire text without restrictions. If you prefer, you may opt to purchase a professionally bound print version at a low cost from the UTA Bookstore or XanEdu."

Sample Language for Library-Licensed Content

"Your textbook for this class is available free to you online through UTA Libraries. You can access the web version of the text from the Libraries’ website [include permalink for text]. Please note that you will have to login using your NetID. You may also print individual chapters or the entire textbook without restrictions."

Sample Language for Course Reserves

"Your course materials for this class are available free to you through UTA Libraries Course Reserves. On-Site Reserves are assigned short loan periods and can be checked out at the circulation desk on the first floor of the Central Library or the service desk at either the West Campus Library (formerly AFA) or the Science and Engineering Library. You may find your print reserves location and call number by searching through the Course Reserves website. You can access electronic reserves from the Course Reserves website or through a direct link embedded within Canvas. Please note that you will have to log in using your NetID and password."

Funding Opportunities

We have several grants for faculty who wish to use the library as a resource in their courses:

UTA CARES Grants

The UTA Coalition for Alternative Resources in Education for Students (CARES) Grant Program was established to support educators interested in practicing open education through the adoption of OER and, when no suitable open resource is available, through the creation of new OER or the adoption of library-licensed or other free content. Grants include Affordable Adoption Stipends, OER Modification Grants, and OER Creation Grants.

Apply to UTA CARES

Experiential Learning Faculty Fellowship (ELFF)

Fellows will have the opportunity to work with our Experiential Learning Librarians and other experts in the library to create or redesign curricula or assignments to include experiential or project-based learning components that utilize library resources. The goal is to support student success by uniting your expertise in course content, our expertise in experiential learning curriculum design, and the libraries’ resources and technologies that build the transferable skills of our students. The fellowship includes a $1,500 stipend.

• Faculty must be willing to collaborate closely with Experiential Learning Librarians.
• The course should be taught regularly (yearly, every semester, etc.).
• Faculty should be willing to have their curriculum shared through open access venues.
• Faculty should be willing to present their work at a campus-wide presentation, a blog post for the Libraries, and at least one professional conference and/or publication in collaboration with library staff.

Apply to Faculty Fellowship

Faculty Teaching in the Archives Grant

We invite faculty who would like to design or invigorate an undergraduate or graduate course with unique content from Special Collections to apply for this grant opportunity. Preference will be given to proposals that utilize African-American primary source materials, or other primary sources that highlight the diversity found within Special Collections' materials, to generate innovative primary source assignments and projects for students.

Apply to Faculty Teaching in the Archives

Have Another Idea?

If you have a project that doesn’t fit into one of these grants, please reach out to us at LIBRARY-OI-GRANT@LISTSERV.UTA.EDU.