In celebration of Open Education Week 2025, the Senate of College Councils and UT Libraries partnered to solicit nominations from students across campus to recognize instructors who increased access and equity by selecting free or low cost course materials for their classes. We’ll be recognizing a few of those nominees this week as Affordable Education Champions!
Affordable Education Champions are instructors who assign free or low cost resources — like textbooks, websites, films, and more — for their courses. (Because the “low cost” definition can vary by discipline, we invited students to determine what that means for them.) Sometimes they author their own materials and sometimes they’re able to reuse free or low cost work created by others. We share gratitude and appreciation for their commitment to fostering access to high quality education at the lowest possible cost barrier for their students.
Today, we congratulate and thank Dr. Patricia García, who was nominated by her students in E321 in the Department of English.
Patricia M. García is a Texas Ex life member and an associate professor of instruction in the Department of English at the University of Texas at Austin. She has published numerous articles and reviews on Latinx literature, English Renaissance literature, and English pedagogy, including chapters in The Pocket Instructor: Literature (Princeton UP, 2015) and Teaching Gloria E. Anzaldúa: Pedagogy and Practice for Our Classrooms and Communities (U. of Arizona P, 2020). She has won numerous teaching awards, including the Sutherland Award for Excellence in the Teaching of E316, the Harry Ransom Award for Teaching Excellence at UT, the Chad Oliver Plan II Teaching Award, the Dad’s Centennial Teaching Award, and the President’s Associate’s Teaching Excellence award. In the English department, Dr. García serves as director of the Lower Division Literature Program and has led the Oxford Study Abroad program. She also posts random survey questions on the whiteboard outside the Calhoun Hall 3rd floor elevators to keep faculty, staff, and students busy and entertained while waiting for classes to begin.
When asked what led her to select free or low cost resources for her required course materials, Dr. Garcia told us:
I am keenly aware of textbook costs, and many of my texts are easily available in the public domain, especially for my Shakespeare course! In that course in particular, I appreciate the multiple editions of Shakespeare’s works as they relate to purpose and need. Textual editions are good for a graduate course studying editing history of his works. For my undergraduate course, I like the flexibility of simple paperbacks designed for the classroom, such as the Folger Library Editions. The Folger Library makes these readily available for free on the course site, so that’s how I’ve come to adopt those. In course where digital texts are available through the Longhorn Textbook Access, I offer that as an option to students as well.
When asked if she noticed a change in student response or outcomes after making the switch to free or affordable course materials, Dr. Garcia told us:
Since I’ve moved to open and digital access texts, I have noticed that most students have the text ready for class discussion on their computer and phone. I recall earlier teaching days when students would forget the book at home! Additionally, most students have their texts on the first day. This aligns with my goals of having all course materials on-line
When asked what advice she would offer other instructors who are considering transitioning their courses to more affordable materials, Dr. Garcia told us:
While I have not made the switch to digital texts for my own research and teaching (as most of my notes and annotations our on my print copies!), I recognize that students read differently than I do. Faculty should respect the learning styles of our students. I do use and appreciate Kindle for my bedtime reading, especially because I can make the font bigger for my aging eyes!
Join us in thanking Dr. Garcia for her contribution to making UT an environment where students can succeed without high course materials costs!
If you know of an instructor who is dedicated to making their courses as affordable as possible by selecting free or low cost course materials, let us know by contacting Heather Walter, Tocker Open Education Librarian (heather.walter@austin.utexas.edu)
