A college education should provide lifelong benefits 鈥� not lifelong debt.

At 麻豆原创, that belief extends beyond tuition costs to the often-overlooked costs that add up fast: textbooks, access codes and digital platforms that can cost hundreds of dollars per course.

Faced with those expenses, students make compromises. Buy the materials or pay for essentials. Get the book late 鈥� or not at all. Those choices can jeopardize academic success before classes even begin.

Through the , 麻豆原创 is supporting faculty in replacing those obstacles with free or low-cost instructional materials, ensuring students start each semester prepared to succeed academically.

And the impact is undeniable.

Since 2019, AIM has saved 麻豆原创 students over $50 million in instructional materials costs 鈥� money that can go toward expenses such as housing, groceries and transportation.

A University-Wide Effort

AIM isn鈥檛 the work of a single office or program. It鈥檚 a university-wide collaboration that brings together the Division of Digital Learning, 麻豆原创 Libraries, the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs, the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, the 麻豆原创 Bookstore and other university stakeholders 鈥� all aligned around one shared goal: support faculty so that they can better support students.

In 2025 alone,聽18,878 course sections 鈥� representing聽76.5% of all sections聽offered 鈥� utilized low- or no-cost course materials.

Formally established in 2019 under the provost’s sponsorship, AIM was created to bring structure and cohesion to affordability efforts already happening across campus. What emerged is a strategic, student-centered movement that proves affordability, innovation and academic excellence aren鈥檛 competing priorities, but complementary ones.

鈥淥ur faculty are leading in ways that make access real for students,鈥� says Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs John Buckwalter. 鈥淭he numbers tell one part of the story, but behind every savings figure is a student whose experience is shaped by faculty care, creativity and commitment. That鈥檚 the kind of impact that lasts and is worth investing in.鈥�

At its core, AIM focuses on efforts in four areas: First day, open educational resources, library-sourced materials and affordability counts. Together, these efforts remove blocks to required educational content while giving faculty the flexibility to design courses that are more interactive, accessible and connected to real-world relevance.

In practice, that means more dynamic learning experiences 鈥� curated readings, videos, case studies and instructor-created materials that meet students where they are.

Honoring Faculty Advancing Affordable Learning

That work was celebrated on Feb. 3 during the , which recognized faculty and staff across 麻豆原创 who are聽committed聽to keeping course materials affordable聽for students.

The awards do more than acknowledge past efforts 鈥� they highlight what鈥檚 possible and encourage more faculty to participate. This year,聽1,519 faculty members聽were honored, the most ever recognized in a single calendar year, signaling just how deeply AIM has taken hold across 麻豆原创.

Award nominations are grounded in real outcomes and incorporate student feedback and impact stories. Faculty may be nominated by peers or self-nominate, with categories honoring use of affordable instructional materials for more than two years (Legacy) or fewer than two years (Rising). Students across 麻豆原创 nominate faculty members for the Knights鈥� Choice Award based on their courses and experience, and the nominees are evaluated by officers of the Student Government Association.

Read on to learn more about the outstanding work of this year鈥檚 honorees.

Individual Rising Award

Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies Debaleena Majumdar received recognition for developing EVR 3733: Introduction to Sustainable Design in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, a course that covers topics ranging from the sustainable built environment and ecological design to resilience and decarbonization.鈥�

Majumdar curated a mix of zero-cost resources 鈥� including 14 library eBook chapters, six scholarly articles, 14 videos, and 12 web-based resources 鈥� organized through Leganto, a Canvas tool supported by 麻豆原创 Libraries.

The result: eliminated course material costs across multiple semesters while maintaining high standards for quality, accessibility and engagement. Her course earned both the Affordability Counts medallion and Quality Online course designation within the State University System of Florida.鈥嬄犫��

Beyond her own classroom, Majumdar is helping other faculty adopt similar approaches by presenting her course at the Technology Expo and including her insights in a case study that demonstrates how Leganto can help organize affordable course reading lists.鈥�

Individual Legacy Award

Associate Professor of Engineering Samar Younes was recognized for her innovative use of open educational resources, 麻豆原创 Library resources, first day materials, and instructor-created content across multiple civil, environmental, and construction engineering courses.

During the submission period, her work benefited 1,776 students by providing free or discounted access to course materials and generated approximately $371,061 in cost savings. But what set her nomination apart was how intentionally she redesigned learning itself.鈥�

Younes created a free YouTube instructional channel featuring step-by-step problem-solving videos, LinkedIn Learning micro-courses and artificial intelligence-generated interactive practice tools, giving students multiple ways to master complex engineering concepts without added expense.

鈥淧rofessor Younes is by far one of the best professors I have had the honor of learning under at 麻豆原创,鈥� says a student who took her Construction Equipment and Productivity course during the Spring 2022 semester. 鈥淪he 鈥� does so much to personalize and create her own learning material.鈥澛犫�嬄犫��

As her department鈥檚 accreditation coordinator, Younes champions these practices beyond her own courses through presentations and collaborative leadership, building a culture in which colleagues look to her example to adopt accessible, affordable instructional materials.

Group Legacy Award

The First-Year Composition Program (ENC 1101 and ENC 1102) in the College of Arts and Humanities demonstrated what affordability looks like at scale.

Between Spring 2023 and Fall 2025, the First-Year Composition Program served more than 17,700 students and generated over $2.6 million in cumulative textbook cost savings.

By partnering with 麻豆原创 Libraries, associate instructors Stuart Dees and Lissa Pompos Mansfield, Instructor Meeghan Faulconer, Associate Lecturer Pamela Baker and Associate Professor Shane Wood replaced traditional textbooks with no-cost, accessible materials delivered through Canvas. Their efforts have reduced course material costs to $0 per student.鈥�

To support consistency and quality across the program, faculty also created a shared hub in Canvas where readings aligned with course learning outcomes are available to all instructors, enabling access to high-quality, affordable materials. They also meet regularly with a librarian to curate materials and develop discipline-specific library collections.鈥�

Knights’ Choice Award

Nicholson School of Communication and Media lecturer Joseph Wachowski was nominated by his students for his commitment to providing free, accessible course materials.

During the award ceremony, Shivani Vakharia, academic affairs coordinator for 麻豆原创鈥檚 Student Government Association, highlighted Wachowski鈥檚 forward-thinking approach to course design and the tangible impact his work has had on students.

鈥淧rofessor Joseph Wachowski is being honored for his dedication to developing and supporting affordable course materials, helping remove financial obstacles for students and fostering collaboration across the academic community,鈥� Vakharia says. 鈥淭he university and its students recognize and appreciate his lasting contributions to innovation, equity and student success.鈥�

Together, these awardees represent the heart of AIM: faculty innovation backed by institutional support, all in service of student success.

Faculty interested in learning more about AIM or seeking support can email affordable@ucf.edu.

The event, which is sponsored by the Office of Research and , drew more than 40 guests, including Vice Provost for Faculty Excellence Jana Jasinski and Interim Vice President for Research and Innovation Winston Schoenfeld.

Schoenfeld spoke about the importance of creativity and scholarship in a thriving academic environment.

鈥淚n a time when we see significant emphasis placed on metrics such as research expenditures, it is important to recognize that societal impact is not always reflected in research dollars spent,鈥� Schoenfeld says. 鈥淎nd in particular, scholarship and creative works are core tenants of a high impact academic institution and represent significant value toward society that should be celebrated.”

Pegasus Professor of Luis Mart铆nez Fern谩ndez delivered the keynote address that shared insights into his recent book, When the World Turned Upside Down: Politics, Culture, and the Unimaginable Events of 2019- 2022, that comprises 66 essays drawn from syndicated columns he wrote during that period.

Motivated by significant global events, Mart铆nez-Fern谩ndez emphasized the interconnectedness of these events and the need for a more creative approach to historical writing.

The authors and their works honored were:

• Salvador Almagro-Moreno, College of Medicine, Vibrio spp. Infections.
• Mindi Anderson, College of Nursing, Holograms & High Technology: Could Technology Bridge the Gaps in Simulation Education?
• James Bacchus, College of Sciences, Trade Links: New Rules for a New World and Truth about Trade: Reflections on International Trade and Law
• Cori Baill, College of Medicine, Why is Mommy Crying? -Explaining Early Pregnancy Loss to Young Children
• Melody Bowdon, College of Arts and Humanities, Ethical Considerations of Virtual Reality in the College Classroom
• Wayne Bowen, College of Undergraduate Studies, Spain and the Protestant Reformation: the Spanish Inquisition and the War for Europe
• Sarah Bush, College of Community Innovation and Education, Success Stories from Catalyzing Change
• Li-Mei Chen, College of Medicine, Protastin in Human Health and Disease
• Jim Clark, College of Arts and Humanities, Lost Attractions of Florida
• Ilenia Col贸n Mendoza, College of Arts and Humanities, The Broken Body as Devotional Mediator in Seventeenth Century Spain
• Fayshonda Cooks, College of Nursing, Goal Lean Health and Weight Management Lifestyle Plan (a series)
• Sai Deng, 麻豆原创 Libraries, Translations of: Sketches of China: with Illustrations from Original Drawings
• Lauryn De George, College of Business, Instructors Manual and PowerPoint Slides for Principles of Management and Multiple Case Studies on Compensation, Customer Expectations, Inclusivity, Ethics, Performance Management, Quiet Quitting, Supply Chain Issues, Employment at Will and Other Pertinent Topics
• Desiree D铆az, College of Nursing, Chapter 8: Holograms and High Technology: Could Technology Bridge the Gaps and Incorporating Concepts of Diversity and Cultural Humility in Simulations
• Erin Doggette, Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, ChatGPT Assignments to Use in Your Classroom Today
• Sara Duff, 麻豆原创 Libraries, Zines in Libraries: Selecting, Purchasing, and Processing
• Chlo毛 Rae Edmonson, College of Arts and Humanities / School of Performing Arts, America Under the Influence: Drinking, Culture, and Immersive Performance
• Martha Garcia 鈥�97 鈥�00MA, College of Arts and Humanities, Sense and Art of the Textual Pilgrimage. Stories & Auto Sacramental in Bilingual Key.
• Enrique Guerra-Pujol, College of Business, Business Law and Strategy
• Steve Haberlin, College of Community Innovation and Education, Meditation in the College Classroom: A Pedagogical Tool to Help Students De-stress, Focus, and Connect.
• Keith Harrison, College of Business, Circle Inside of a Box: The Business of Hip Hop Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• David Head, College of Arts and Humanities, A Republic of Scoundrels: The Schemers, Intriguers, and Adventurers Who created a New American Nation
• Elizabeth Brendel Horn 鈥�10MFA, College of Arts and Humanities, Activated Script Analysis: An Integrative Approach to Play Analysis through Creative Expression and Devised Theatre
• Michael Jablonski, College of Arts and Humanities, Dance in Musical Theatre: A history of the Body in Movement Chapter 14
• Bruce Janz, College of Arts and Humanities, African Philosophy and Enactivist Cognition: The Space of Thought
• Christina Kwapich, College of Sciences, The Guests of Ants: How Myrmecophiles Interact with their Hosts and Die Gaste der Ameisen
• Peter Larson, College of Arts and Humanities, Rethinking the Great Transition: Community and Economic Growth in County Durham
• Julia Listengarten, College of Arts and Humanities, Visual and Performing Arts Collaborations in Higher Education: Transdisciplinary Practices
• Luis Martinez Fernandez, College of Arts and Humanities, When the World Turned Upside Down: Politics, Culture, and the Unimaginable Events of 2019-2022
• Ty Matejowsky, College of Sciences, Smothered and Covered: Waffle House and the Southern Imaginary
• Jonathan Matusitz, College of Sciences, From Child Terrorism to Peace Activism and Fundamentals of Public Communication Campaigns
• Barry Mauer, College of Arts and Humanities, Reimagining the Humanities and Strategies for Conducting Literary Research
• Lisa Nalbone, College of Arts and Humanities, Negotiating Discursive Spaces: Censorship and Woman’s Novels in Spain
• Fevzi Okumus, Rosen College of Hospitality Management, Contemporary Research Methods in Hospitality and Tourism and Advanced Research Methods in Hospitality and Tourism
• Hakan Ozoglu, College of Arts and Humanities, Cumhuriyet’in Kurulu艧 Sava艧lar谋 (Foundation Struggles in the Early Turkish Republic) and Decline of the Ottoman Empire and the Rise of the Turkish Republic
• Irene Pons 鈥�00, College of Community Innovation and Education, Why I Encourage my Students to Experience Reality
• Roberto Hugh Potter, College of Community Innovation and Education, Human Trafficking: A Systemwide Public Safety and Community Approach (second edition)
• Cecilia Rodr铆guez-Milan茅s, College of Arts and Humanities, Dancing Danny
• Lee Ross, College of Community Innovation and Education, Music Lyrics and Domestic Violence: The Soundtracks of Our Lives
• Deanna Sellnow, College of Sciences, Before Crisis: The Practice of Effective Risk Communication
• Timothy Sellnow, College of Sciences, Before Crisis: The Practice of Effective Risk Communication
• Audra Skukauskaite, College of Community Innovation and Education, Interactional Ethnography: Designing and Conducting Discourse-based Ethnographic Research and Engaging Students in Socially Constructed Qualitative Research Pedagogies
• Laurie Rachkus Uttich 鈥�09MFA, Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning / English department, ChatGPT Assignments to Use in Your Classroom Today and Somewhere a Woman Lowers the Hem of Her Skirt
• Marcy Verduin, College of Medicine, Kaplan & Sadock’s Concise Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry (fifth edition) and Mental Health for Spiritual People
• Kimberly Voss, College of Sciences, Newspaper Fashion Editors in the 1950s and the 60s and Vivian Castleberry: Challenging the Traditions of Women’s Roles, Newspaper Content and Community Politics
• Jennie Wagner, College of Nursing, Conception and Fetal Development
• Linda Walters, College of Sciences, Please Keep Plastics Out of My Lagoon!
• Keri Watson, College of Arts and Humanities, This is America: Re-viewing the Art of the United States and Routledge Companion to Art and Disability
• Shannon Whitten, College of Science, Psychology, Art, and Creativity
• Amanda Wilkerson 鈥�16EdD, College of Community Innovation and Education, Best Practices and Programmatic Approaches for Mentoring Educational Leaders
• Bruce Wilson, College of Sciences, El Agua como Derecho Humano: Reconocimientos y Disputas en Costa Rica
• Kevin Yee, Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, Ethical Considerations of Virtual Reality in the College Classroom: Cross-Disciplinary Case Studies of Immersive Technology Implementation and ChatGPT Assignments to Use in your Classroom Today
• Margaret Ann Zaho, College of Arts and Humanities, Art is an Endangered Species: A History of Western Art, Paleolithic-Romanesque (second edition) and Art is an Endangered Species II: A History of Western Art Renaissance-20th Century (second edition)

Library Acquisitions has acquired many of these books, and they can be found either physically on the 4th floor Reading Room of John C. Hitt Library or .

This fall, 137 new faculty members join 麻豆原创, each with unique backgrounds, expertise and paths. I had the honor of welcoming them to 麻豆原创 during New Faculty Orientation last week. They include:

• Meredith Chaput, an assistant professor of physical therapy, whose research focuses on how the brain changes after knee injuries.
• Brian Collins, a lecturer of tourism, events and attractions, and a former Walt Disney Imagineer. Collins wrote scripts and spiels for a variety of attractions, including the memorable jokes on the Jungle Cruise at Magic Kingdom.
• Mohsen Rakhshan, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering. A neuroscientist and electrical engineer, Rakhshan works at the intersection of these fields to create technologies that improve lives of people who have had nervous system injuries.

These are just a few of the incredible faculty who distinguish 麻豆原创 for excellence and impact.

Our Unleashing Potential Strategic Plan builds on 麻豆原创鈥檚 areas of expertise and challenges us to use our location and strategic partnerships to inspire innovation and discovery to advance society in positive ways.

Faculty play a key role in helping the university accomplish these goals. I am grateful to each of our faculty for the contributions they make to 麻豆原创 every day, and for the incredible work they have done over their distinguished careers.

and the offer many resources for the professional development of our faculty. I encourage faculty to use these services and tools to advance their own growth as scholars, educators and researchers.

I also invite our faculty to connect with one another at the Faculty Assembly and Reception on Thursday, Sept. 14, from 3-5 p.m. in the Cape Florida Ballroom at the Student Union.

I hope to see faculty there as we celebrate the start of the new academic year and the bright future ahead for our students and each other.

鈥淎n Inquiry into the Water around Us,鈥� was published in the August issue of Science and earned the Science Prize for Inquiry-Based Instruction. It was authored by Erin Saitta, assistant director of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning; Tamra Legron-Rodriguez, a 麻豆原创 alumna and faculty member at Rollins College; and Melody Bowdon, director of the FCTL.

The learning module and its supporting materials are intended to provide science instructors across the nation with a valuable teaching model that will develop students鈥� abilities to think critically in the scientific process and become more civically engaged.

The team鈥檚 module matched STEM majors from 麻豆原创 with middle and high school students to study the issue of local water quality.聽 Teams were assigned key questions regarding water quality and tasked with designing the necessary methods to experiment and make claims in response to the questions.

Collaboration and communication between the students was a critical element of the project. After class, students continued to analyze experimental results; delve deeper into the chemistry content and its civic and political implications; and focus on communicating the information to a non-scientific audience.

The 麻豆原创 team hopes that the interactive nature of the module will encourage more middle and high schoolers to pursue degrees and careers in STEM and more STEM professionals to consider the value of civic engagement.

鈥淚 am proud to have our 麻豆原创 students, who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence and civic engagement, featured in such a prominent journal,鈥� Saitta said. 鈥淥ne of the most rewarding aspects for me is that with the publication of the supplemental materials, the module will able to be utilized and adapted by educators around the world, hopefully inspiring the next generation of inquisitive and engaged scientists.鈥�

Some courses really need to be small to have an impact, while other content-driven courses can be large and still provide students with all the materials they need for success.

Critical judgments against large classes likely begin with a mental image of a professor arriving late, fighting with outdated technology on which he or she never was trained, talking in a whispered monotone about material they don鈥檛 know well 鈥� and of course, then the talking head disappears at the end of the class, not to be seen or heard from again until the next lecture. In reality, this scenario could happen in any size class.

The worst preconceived notion, however, is that professors of large classes do not care about their students or their learning. This is definitely not the case with the professors I know.

Here is how the Department of Biology runs its freshmen-level core courses with a 鈥渧illage鈥� of trained individuals available to assist students to succeed. Our goals for the two-course freshmen majors sequence (Biology 1 and 2) are to:

1) make sure all students who successfully complete this course have a good understanding of the basics of the field;

2) introduce students to some of the many topics they need to be aware of as scientists 聽鈥� including information fluency, ethics and plagiarism; and

3) train students to start thinking like scientists.

How do we achieve this in a large class?

Goal 1 is initiated by the professor who presents material in lecture. All Biology faculty members who teach large sections have frequented the 麻豆原创 Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning and have an arsenal of engagement methods for their classes 鈥� be they group activities, real-time response systems (e.g. clickers), or one-minute papers.

My current favorite is having students create YouTube-style videos on difficult course concepts, such as one group of students that used hand puppets to explain the steps involved in DNA replication, and another that solved genetics problems using a human foursquare board.

I don鈥檛 think some people realize that many college students in large classes are not afraid to ask questions during lectures. 聽In fact, in many classes there can be too many questions.

Students sitting toward the front of the room probably have no idea how many people are behind them. That is good. They are in their own learning world for the duration of each class.

After class, our professors assist students by holding office hours, answering hundreds of e-mail questions, and running test reviews.

But there is more.

We hire undergraduates who have done well in these classes to assist in lecture, hold additional office hours to help answer student questions (especially before exams), and provide group supplemental instruction and one-on-one tutoring through the Student Academic Resource Center.

And add to this Michele Yeargain, Biology鈥檚 amazing freshmen-course coordinator, who focuses on tracking grades and on the students themselves. In large classes there are lots of student-disability concerns and make-up tests to schedule. Out of 860 students (two classes of 430), we anticipate between 10 and 60 students will miss each of our 6 exams!

The individuals mentioned so far primarily help students learn content. Our required weekly, two-hour laboratories are run by 2 graduate students. As these students improve their communication skills, they lead labs designed to further reinforce course materials, proctor tests to better facilitate a small-class environment for this critical activity, and work toward completing Goals 2 and 3 (and creating the next generation of scientists).

In a perfect world (read that as funding with an unlimited budget), what would I change?

I would definitely make our labs smaller before tackling the size of lectures. Hundreds of studies document that small, inquiry-driven labs help students better understand the scientific process. I would also make sure the large classrooms are the nicest rooms on campus in terms of technology and physical appearance. And, of course, I would work toward decreasing our student-to-faculty ratio of 31:1.

So, at least in Biology, freshmen have a 鈥渧illage鈥� each semester directly looking after their interests and well-being, as well as many more folks helping behind the scenes. This is very different than a single talking head that only exists during lecture.

Hats off to the professors and departments who make large classes work well.

The community needs to know faculty members treat these courses as an opportunity to positively impact the success of many students.

麻豆原创 Forum columnist Dr. Linda Walters is a biology professor at the 麻豆原创 and director of the 麻豆原创 Fellers House Field Research Station in Canaveral National Seashore. She can be reached at Linda.Walters@ucf.edu.

The center is now in the Faculty Center for Teaching & Learning in Classroom Building 1, Room 207H.

Biology Professor Linda Walters has been named interim director after Professor Leslie Lieberman retired as director earlier this year.

鈥淭he center did great work when it was in Research Park,鈥� said Executive Vice Provost Diane Chase, who oversees the center. 鈥淒r. Lieberman provided some outstanding leadership before she retired. Now it鈥檚 time to evaluate and figure out how best we build on her accomplishments.鈥�

The center opened in 2001 to elevate the prominence of 麻豆原创 research relevant to women and to enhance the research capacity of 麻豆原创 faculty women. Goals included promoting research opportunities, building partnerships and bridging research in a variety of disciplines.

Those goals are still relevant, Chase said, but the center is looking to broaden its role to support research about and for women, and to encourage the development of women on 麻豆原创鈥檚 faculty.

That鈥檚 why the move to the Faculty Center for Teaching & Learning is ideal, Walters said.

鈥淭here is so much going on there already,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e will be building on those programs and offering seminars and other opportunities to enhance the resources available to faculty.鈥�

Among the new projects already in the works are a successful-women seminar series showcasing successes within and outside academia, including Chase as the first speaker; one-on-one mentoring sessions with faculty; a revamped web site full of relevant resources that all faculty will find useful, and think tanks and discussion sessions aimed at helping shape the future of the center.

Walters is especially interested in making the center a resource center for as many faculty members as possible.

Running the center is only part of Walters鈥� duties. She will continue to teach and conduct research for which she has earned national recognition. She鈥檚 won numerous grants for marine-conservation research and Volusia County honored her commitment and passion to education, research and the environment by declaring Nov. 6 as Dr. Linda Walters Day.

A search for a director will be conducted in about 18 months. For now, Walters said she鈥檚 excited to help shape the center鈥檚 mission for the next decade.

For more information about the center, drop by, call 407-823-4240, or email linda.walters@ucf.edu or frances.ragsdale@ucf.edu