Press Release

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:

Jack Harding

Vice President Academic, StFX Students’ Union            

Su_academic@stfx.ca

The StFX Students’ Union is excited to launch a new platform promoting Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) courses.

This is a continually updated list of courses we are aware of that currently use an open textbook (a textbook available at zero cost to students), or use teaching materials that don't come at an additional cost to students. We would like to note that we keep this list as updated as possible, but it is not a comprehensive list, and it is possible that some courses may have switched professors and are no longer zero-cost. Also, it is possible that the same courses taught by different professors may use different resources, so we have included the professor who teaches the course at zero cost as we can't guarantee other sections will also be zero-cost. If you do notice information on this site that is out of date, email su_academic@stfx.ca!

The cost of textbooks can be a significant burden to students, and we would like to support them in making informed decisions about the cost of courses they are considering taking. We would also like to express our appreciation to faculty who've made an effort to teach their courses at a low/no cost to students by recognizing them through this list.

Further questions, concerns, or learn more about OERs Advocacy at StFX Students’ Union, please contact Vice President Academic, Naomi Stobart at su_academic@stfx.ca.

The high price of textbooks is hurting students!

What are Open Educational Resources?

Open Educational Resources (OER) are any teaching and learning material which are published under an open license, meaning they are open to everyone to use at no cost. OER are often published with licenses that allow others to edit and adapt them, also for free. OER are beneficial for students because they come at no cost to us and relieve the extra pressure of expensive books. They can also make classrooms more engaging because using and making OER can be a process that students become involved in. Since using OER is free, if a professor switches to one they can make their course a zero-cost course!

Is the cost of textbooks an issue that is important to you? Here's how you can help!

1. Talk about it! Below we've provided some email templates that you can use to send to your professors, or to relevant administrators at the University. Speaking up and letting those folks know this is important to students is a huge step in bringing more zero-cost courses, and supports for faculty switching to zero-cost courses to campus. Their contact information is below.

2. Learn more! Email the VP Academic, Naomi Stobart at su_academic@stfx.ca if you'd like to learn more about OER, and how you can get involved with advocacy on campus.

Reaching out to decision makers on our campus to voice your support of OER can be really powerful. Email them to let them know OER are important to students.

You can email the following administrator:

• acockshu@stfx.ca - Academic Vice President and Provost

And the Dean of your program:

• japaloo@stfx.ca - Dean of Science

• kbrebner@stfx.ca - Dean of Arts

• twhynes@stfx.ca - Dean of Business

• lbrogden@stfx.ca - Dean of Education

Your professor should have given you their email at the beginning of the term, and you can also search their names in the outlook directory.

Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Courses at StFX

If you are a professor/instructor who uses an open textbook and AREn’t on this list, please fill out thIS form.