Call for Proposals

The call for proposals for the 2026 Summit has closed. Please consider attending the Summit on October 14th!

1st Affordable Learning Summit - Call for Proposals

The 1st Affordable Learning Summit, hosted virtually by Seattle University will be on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. The theme of the Summit will be Collaborative Approaches to Affordability Initiatives. The work of Affordable Learning is, by its nature, collaborative and a shared goal for an institution, and as such we hope the Summit will showcase learnings, best practices, and innovative approaches to solving these shared concerns.

The Summit Planning Committee would like to invite you to submit proposals for virtual presentations, workshops, panel discussions, or lightning talks related to affordable learning initiatives. Affordable Learning refers to efforts and/or initiatives that seek to reduce costs for students by promoting low- cost or no-cost alternatives to traditional commercial textbooks, or efforts that engage systematically with traditional structures to reduce costs, fees, or other unexpected expenditures associated with the cost of education.

INTENDED AUDIENCE

Our intended audience for the Summit incorporates attendees in any of three tracks:
  • Novice; I’m aware of conversation around OER but would like to learn more.
  • Intermediate; Our college or university has work-in-progress in an affordable learning initiative.
  • Expert; Our college or university has been engaged in this work for multiple years and has a depth of experience to draw insights.

We invite proposals for presentations, workshops, and panel discussions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • Getting started with Affordable Learning initiatives on your campus
  • OER support, textbook buying programs, open pedagogy
  • Campus Partnerships and collaboration
  • Bookstore/campus store partnerships, faculty partnerships, student group partnerships, etc.
  • Student advocacy or student-led affordability initiatives
  • Addressing the cost of non-traditional course materials such as art materials and lab fees, for example.
  • Navigating equitable/inclusive access programs practices
  • Cost of education (housing assistance, food security, fees)
  • Projects focused on specific student groups (first gen, graduate and professional students, international students)
  • Law school initiatives
  • Collaboration between public libraries and schools/colleges/universities

SESSION FORMATS

Programs or workshops should be 60 minutes in length, and ideally include up to 15 minutes for Q&A. Submissions may center on completed work or works in progress – and presentations should focus on project learnings, outcomes, reflections, and best practices.

Panels should be 45 to 60 minutes in length, and proposals should include a range of at least 3-4 speakers representing diverse perspectives on a shared issue. Panels should incorporate interactive elements to the presentation that allow for audience questions.

Lightning talks should be no more than 5 to 7 minutes in length, and may be pre-recorded and submitted prior to the event. Lightning talks should be highly-focused presentations that summarize a topic, tool, project, or work in progress to demonstrate new ideas, approaches to an issue, and should ideally stimulate conversation and follow-up discussion.

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL

To submit your proposal, please fill out this form!

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

All proposals must have:

  • Format (program, panel, lightning talk)
  • Title
  • 300-word abstract
  • 2 to 3 learning outcomes for the audience. 

Creative and engaging proposals and proposals that include or highlight student collaborators or student presenters will be given priority. Please indicate your preferred format when filling out the proposal submission form. All proposals will be blind-reviewed by the Affordable Learning Summit Planning Committee. Our rubric for evaluating submissions.

CONTACT

Please reach out to Heidi Hetzel, Access and Affordable Learning Librarian, at [email protected] or Chris Granatino, Associate Dean of the Library, at [email protected] with any questions.