As a new semester kicks off, UBC students are often handed not just syllabi, but also a hefty textbook bill. However, a quiet shift towards open education resources (OERs) is underway on campus.
OERs are freely accessible teaching and learning materials via open copyright licenses, ranging from textbooks, class readings to lecture materials.
Student Senator Mathew Ho said he has witnessed a significant shift in course materials during his time at the university.
"Having been at UBC since 2016, I've seen a big decrease in the number of courses that require purchasing expensive textbooks," said Ho. "After COVID-19, more professors started putting their main materials on Canvas, making education much more accessible." In light of inflation, rising living costs, and the financial burdens of education, Ho emphasized the importance of OERs.
"Tuition is not cheap, especially for international students," said Ho. "OERs alleviate the multiple avenues that students have to pay for textbooks, relevant digital materials and assignment grading, which can vary between faculties."
Kamil Kanji, VP academic and university affairs of the AMS, agreed with Ho on the importance of OERs.
Online learning technologies and open-source textbooks created by faculty members are free for students and provide flexibility for instructors to tailor materials to their courses.
Citing the Academic Experience Survey, Kanji said, “29 per cent of students reported [they] often go without a course textbook due to costs, and 39 per cent access textbooks and course materials illegally.”
Ho and Kanji called on UBC to make a greater commitment to supporting faculty and enhancing the accessibility of OER materials to address the affordability crisis for students.
The AMS and student senators are both advocating for more OERs in classrooms. Annually, the AMS runs the Textbook Broke campaign and contributes to the OER Champions initiative to recognize faculty achievements in promoting open educational resources.
Kanji highlighted the ongoing efforts of the AMS to focus on policy changes and increased financial support for OER initiatives. He added the student senate caucus has been pushing for cost caps on learning assessment materials.
“There's a commitment made [in Senate policy V-131] that by 2028, digital tools will be made free. I think that's a very commendable goal.”
Dr. Christina Hendricks, vice-provost and associate vice-president of teaching and learning pro tem, said UBC has made significant progress in providing funding and resources to support OER development, but emphasized some challenges in expanding it.
The OER Resources Fund, created after student advocacy, has already made a substantial impact on the campus. Hendricks said replacing traditional course materials with OERs has “saved students between $250 and 300,000 between 2020 and 2021.”
Hendricks also highlighted the Open Case Studies project, which allows students to engage in creating open educational resources for fellow students, promoting a sense of ownership in their education.
However, she acknowledged a key challenge of OER adoption is at the faculty level.
"Changing to OERs requires a lot of time and effort, which can be a barrier," she noted, highlighting how faculty members often need additional support and training to incorporate OERs effectively.
Despite the challenges, the adoption of OERs at UBC has significantly improved accessibility to educational resources and student learning outcomes.
“There has been a lot of research over the past that shows that use of open educational resources in courses leads to the same level of learning and outcomes,” said Hendricks.
For students senators, OER development is trending in the right direction.
"Advocacy is a marathon, not a race," said Ho.