Information and History
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has been integrating affordable learning into classrooms for decades. Affordable Learning Georgia Grants have been in use since 2017.
According to the Affordable Learning Georgia main office as of Fall 2025:
- Over the past ten years, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College students have saved $2,808,691.87 in textbook cost avoidance thanks to ALG-funded grant projects.
- ABAC’s percentage of marked no-cost materials course sections is higher than the USG average as a whole.
Recently, the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AASU) has added a new high-impact practice to the 11 current practices. A high-impact practice is one that provides significant education benefits for students, and the new practice is using Open Educational Resources. A report on the practice can be found in Resources at the bottom of this page.
Open Educational Resources Report Key Findings:
- OER implementation was associated with lower course withdrawal rates.
- The number of students earning A grades increased following OER implementation.
- Students who completed at least one OER-supported course demonstrated improved time-to-completion outcomes.
- One-third of instructors reported changing their teaching and learning practices after implementing OER.
- OER implementation showed particular promise for supporting student success among populations historically underserved by higher education.
- Faculty experiences varied considerably depending on institutional support, underscoring the importance of professional development, instructional design assistance, funding, and time for course redesign.
- The findings support recognition of OER implementation as a high-impact practice, with benefits extending beyond affordability to student engagement, persistence, and success.
ABAC takes pride in affordability and wishes to support any faculty research and development of affordable learning opportunities in the classroom.
If you have any questions, ideas, or want a discussion, do not hesitate to contact Dr. April Abbott, Affordable Learning Campus Coordinator, at 229.391.5160 or aabbott@abac.edu or contact Scott Pierce, Director of Sponsored Programs and IRB Chair, at 229-391-4983 or scott.pierce@abac.edu.