Practicing What We Teach: Incorporating Open Access Into the Classroom

To build just and equitable implicit and explicit curricula in an urban BSW program at a medium-sized university, the program collaborated to eliminate the costs of textbooks. This was done through the development of an open access learning environment for a predominately first-generation student population. This article presents the model used to implement this open access textbook initiative, which resulted in the program’s successful transition to a fully open access format in less than 1 year. The specific methodology, funded by established university reimbursement structures, included the following three strategies: (1) adoption of available open access materials; (2) faculty developed content; and (3) purchase of books for lending libraries. Lessons learned and next steps for social work education are discussed.