British Columbia to Offer Free Open Textbooks to Students

British Columbia’s cash-strapped college and university students can rejoice. Earlier this week the province announced that it would be the first to offer free open textbooks to its postsecondary students.

“By taking advantage of technology, more people can get the learning they need in the knowledge economy and access to new or better jobs,” said John Yap, Minister of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology.

“This innovative step under B.C.’s Families First Agenda, is an example of how our government is making our world-class education system even better, while increasing accessibility and affordability for students and their families.”

An open textbook:

• Is published under an open licence
• Can be read online or downloaded at no cost.
• Is available for printing at a fraction of traditional textbook costs. Because the open textbooks are digital and open
• Can be modified and adapted by instructors to fit different classes

The program promises to benefit up to 200,000 British Columbian Families, and help students study 40 of BC’s most popular post-secondary courses. It could be in place as early as 2013-14.

“BCcampus is leading the way on Open Educational Resources – OER – in Canada. We believe the goal of higher education is the creation, dissemination, and preservation of knowledge, and as a system agency coordinating collaborative online learning services, we have an essential role to play,” said David Porter, executive director, BCcampus.