Free textbook adopted by Earth & Ocean Sciences course at UVic
Students continue to advocate for more open educational resources
Victoria – As the UVic Students’ Society gets set to launch its textbook affordability campaign ‘TextbookBroke’ in September, some faculty at UVic are already moving forward to adopt free textbooks for their courses. Earth and Ocean Sciences 120 recently switched from a printed textbook worth $123.50 to a free online textbook offered through BCcampus’ Open Textbook Project.
“The adoption of Open Education Resources (OER) is a great step forward for students at UVic,” said UVSS Director of Campaigns Maxwell Nicholson. “If more colleges and universities throw their weight behind the BC Open Textbook Project and we see wider adoption, this has the potential to make education more affordable for students who are burdened by high debt, expensive course materials, and an extremely tight rental market.“
Textbook affordability has reached a crisis point. Prices have risen three times the rate of inflation since 1970. Textbooks can be up to 50% of the total cost of a university course. For students in EOS 120, the BC Open textbook could collectively save them up to $12,473.50 a year. Students at SImon Fraser and UBC have already seen many open textbook adoptions at their campuses and they are actively pushing for more.
“I’ve heard stories of first year students choosing courses based on how expensive the textbook is, or whether they will really need it for the course,” said UVic Earth and Ocean Sciences professor Lucinda Leonard. “We’d like to remove any obstacle to students being introduced to earth, ocean & atmospheric sciences.”
Over the coming year, the UVSS will continue to advocate for the adoption of more free open textbooks at UVic through ‘TextbookBroke’, a campaign run in partnership with the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) and the Alma Mater Society of UBC (AMS).
The University of Victoria Students’ Society (UVSS) was established in 1964 and represents the 17,000 undergraduate students at the University of Victoria.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Maxwell Nicholson
UVSS Director of Campaigns & Community Relations
campaigns@uvss.ca, 250-721-8366