St.FX Students’ Union (The U) Open Educational Grant Program 

September 19, 2022

St. Francis Xavier University and The U, Antigonish, NS

We proudly announce that the StFX Students' Union and the University have partnered to launch the first Open Educational Resources (OER) grant program! This grant program offers StFX professors funding for the resources that will allow them to switch from using traditionally published textbooks to Open Educational Resources. Open Educational Resources are an openly licensed free alternative to regular textbooks, making for more affordable and inclusive student learning opportunities. 

This is a huge help to the affordability of textbooks for StFX students, and we are thrilled that the first year of the program, which provided $39 488 of funding to StFX faculty, will save students approximately $88 000 in textbook costs per year. In addition, a significant portion of the funding was used to pay for summer students hired by StFX faculty to help them with their Open Educational Resource projects. We would like to thank all the faculty who applied to the OER pilot program and are currently working on their projects, and all those who have contributed to this initiative. Some projects that are presently being funded include Dr. Janitina Toxopeus’s Biology 111/112 which alone will save students up to 56,700$ a year by providing an OER. Successful grant recipients are Dr. Mark Baker’s Physics 121/122, Dr. David Young’s Education 434, Dr. Erin Mazerolle’s new Selected Topics in Cognitive Neuroscience, Dr. Tracy Everitt’s Human Nutrition 425, and Dr. Keith De’Bells’s Math 236. We thank these award winners for their participation and patience as we created and implemented this program. 

Currently, the Students’ Union is working on other initiatives to further the accessibility of universities by lowering the cost of textbooks. Our Zero Textbook Cost course database is available on our website to feature the amazing work professors here on our campus have done to make their classes more accessible. This course database showcases classes that do not have an assigned textbook or that use OER within their classes. The Union and University have also collaborated on the textbook loaner program, where students can donate their used textbooks for free in-library use for other students. Our on-campus partnerships with the university have helped us provide more services to more students to make post-secondary education more accessible. 

For more information, contact: 

Naomi Stobart

Vice President Academic, StFX Students’ Union 

Su_academic@stfx.ca

The U- For Students by Student |   @theuoffical | su_academic@stfx.ca

To our Campus Community

The Students’ Union is heavy hearted following the recent news of the loss of one of our fellow students. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the student, in addition to our entire Xaverian community during this time. If you need any support in mourning our loss, we strongly encourage you to reach out to the services suggested by the University in their email to students yesterday. In addition to those resources, we are currently exploring other resources that we can offer, and will be updating this list as they become available.

    •    Healthy Minds NS—free eMental Health resources for Nova Scotia post-secondary students which includes:  

     •    Good2Talk—a free helpline offering confidential support from professional counsellors to any university student who is studying at a university in Nova Scotia. Call 1-833-292-3698   

     •    Crisis Text Line—A volunteer support service providing text-based supports to university students. To connect, text Good2TalkNS to 686868 

    •    StFX Chaplaincy - (902) 867-2320 or dwmacgil@stfx.ca 

    •    NS Mental Health Crisis Line - 1-888-429-8167 (toll free) available to help 24/7

  •    International Office -

Alumni Recognition Awards for Students

A $1500 bursary could be yours!

The StFX Alumni Association will recognize four StFX University undergraduate (first degree) full time students who combine high academic standing with involvement in campus and/or community activities. Each award is $1500 and will be awarded to one student in each of the four years of study: first year, sophomore, junior, senior. (The funds are applied to your student account at the StFX Business Office.) These awards are intended to recognize full time students who have made a significant contribution to campus/community life and have benefited from their experience at StFX. You are not eligible to receive this award more than once.

A minimum grade average of 70% is required for the current year to apply.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

  1. Sophomore, junior and senior applicants are asked to submit a 1,000-word essay describing what influence they think their experience at StFX will have on life after graduation. Essay submissions need to be original work. Returning students are asked to include their previous years' averages as well as their Christmas average (does NOT need to be an official transcript – just a copy of your grade report from Banner or list your yearly averages).

  2. First-year student essays (1,000 words) should include reasons for choosing StFX and how the StFX experience has impacted them. First-year students need to provide their Christmas average (official transcript NOT necessary – just note your average on cover page).

  3. Previous applicants may apply again but note that essays from applications in previous years cannot be resubmitted. It must be a new essay.

  4. Applicants must also include a list of their extra-curricular activities.

  5. Applicants must include a cover page listing full name, home address, campus address, cell phone number, an email address, year of attendance, program of study, student ID number and anticipated year of graduation and a list of your marks.

  6. Award winners may be asked to attend and read their essay at the fall Homecoming Hall of Honour ceremony in the fall (graduate students who are unable to attend are exempt).

  7. Please submit an electronic version (Microsoft Word document) of your entire submission (including marks) to the email address below before the application deadline.

For further information or clarification of eligibility criteria, interested students should direct their inquiries to:

Glenda Bond, Alumni Affairs Office
Email: gbond@stfx.ca

Students who qualify need to email all of the necessary information to the above email address by the date and time below.

Application Deadline:
MONDAY, February 28, 2022 at 3pm