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Two Franklin College faculty members have received honors from the state’s private school library network.
The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana, or PALNI, has awarded Franklin College educators Andrea Mescall, MBA, CMA, and Arbin Thapaliya, Ph.D., the PALSave Open Educator Award for the 2023-24 academic year, the college announced in a news release Friday.
Franklin College is a supporting institution of the PALSave: PALNI Affordable Learning Program that funds the awards. The program offers Open Educational Resources to help lower the cost of higher education and increase resource accessibility for students, the news release said.
Both Mescall and Thapaliya have adopted OER in their classrooms with the goal of reducing costs for students, improving access to required texts and increasing student success and retention, college officials said.
Mescall, an assistant professor of accounting at the college and a Gosport resident, implemented Open Educational Resources last year. She not only uses zero-cost textbooks, but also utilizes a contract grading method to promote student mastery of course objectives, according to the college.
“It reduces financial barriers for students, ensuring equal access to high-quality educational materials which is crucial in this economy,” Mescall said in the news release. “This approach fosters a more inclusive learning environment and promotes academic success.”
Thapaliya, an associate professor of physics and a Greenwood resident, is the first and only two-time recipient ever of the PALNI Open Educator Award.
“Every class I teach at Franklin College utilizes an open textbook, and I am committed to keeping it that way for as long as I can because it makes both me and my students happy,” Thapaliya said in a news release. “I am very grateful to PALSave for supporting not only my commitment to open textbooks but also for supporting faculty from both Franklin and other institutions in Indiana.”
Thapaliya has also published his own open textbook through a PALSave textbook creation grant, according to the news release.
Only nine faculty members from PALNI’s 24 supporting institutions in Indiana were named Open Educator Award recipients for the 2023-24 academic year.
This is the second time in two months Franklin College employees have been honored by PALNI. Two Franklin College library staffers were honored in August for their contributions to the network.
