About the Project

Xavier University of Louisiana is committed to incorporating the latest cutting edge technologies and resources into our teaching as a standard practice. We strive to offer the same level of excellence in teaching to all our students whether they study on campus or remotely. In pursuit of this commitment, Xavier University signed a partnership Memorandum of Understanding with the California State University's MERLOT organization for the design and deployment of Xavier University's Affordable Learning Solutions (AL$) Initiative. MERLOT is a free and open online community and collection of teaching and learning resources designed primarily for faculty, staff, and students of higher education. MERLOT's open educational services enable teachers and learners from around the world to freely share their instructional resources and pedagogy. MERLOT's library (www.merlot.org) provides a collection of peer-reviewed online learning materials, including almost 5,000 free and open etextbooks, catalogued by registered MERLOT members. MERLOT also provides a wide range of faculty development and student support services.

XULA4Ed.org provides a digital infrastructure that will improve college affordability for students with free etextbooks and educational resources. Having free and immediate access to instructional resources will enable more students to enroll and succeed in more courses as they progress toward graduation in a timelier manner.

XULA4Ed.org will enable faculty to develop online courses and programs using free and quality Open Education Resources (OER). It will also help faculty develop educational multimedia resources and open textbooks to contribute back to the OER and Open Access (OA) global movements. This project not only enhances Xavier University's eLearning infrastructure, but it will help engage other HBCUs and international partners.