The Metro Vancouver university where you can learn with zero textbook costs

Imagine going to a school where you didn’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on heavy, out of date textbooks. The Zero Textbook Cost initiative makes this dream a reality at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU).

Zero Textbook Cost courses at KPU use publicly available and often digital materials rather than traditional textbooks. Known as Open Education Resources (OERs), these interactive textbooks, worksheets, videos, and more mean learning is no longer limited to reading. It also allows access to a larger variety of interesting content that makes learning more approachable.

Public access is another popular reason for OERs. Anyone can digitally access the materials without paying a fee, removing high textbook bills. Collectively, KPU students have saved more than $8 million in textbook costs over the last four years.

But what if your course has an OER textbook and you prefer a paper copy? Not a problem, since printed copies can be created by anyone for as little as $25 — far less than most traditionally printed textbooks.

OERs go beyond being free and more interesting; they are also easy to change and improve. Using a set of rules known as creative commons, new individuals can update and re-release an OER whenever they choose. This has multiple benefits, including the creation of different versions with up-to-date local examples, or translating the material into a new language without going through publishers.

Sometimes, these new versions come from students modifying textbooks alongside their instructors. KPU student Ekjot Bhullar worked alongside two instructors to review and give feedback on a set of interactive questions added to an OER textbook on social psychology.

“Being able to contribute to a textbook was extremely rewarding, as I was able to collaborate with the authors to improve the textbook while providing suggestions from a student’s perspective,” says Bhullar. “Furthermore, knowing that I was able to help future students with their academic careers is extremely gratifying.”

Adding OERs to KPU courses has been important since 2012, when the university was the first to use one in BC. Today, KPU is a global leader in OER adoption and development with nearly 1,000 course sections and eight entire programs that can be completed using only OERs. These amazing results were made possible by KPU instructors who use funding opportunities to adopt, create, and review OERs.

As an OER leader, KPU supports those who want to develop their expertise in open education through the Professional Program in Open Education (PPOE). This online program covers a broad range of open educational practices, including educational technologies, policy, advocacy, and scholarship.

The PPOE and Zero Textbook Cost initiatives are just two examples that show KPU’s commitment to open education. Other undertakings include engaging students with the creation of open resources used in the classroom, and conducting research on the effects of open education. KPU is the place where thought meets action and that is especially true when it comes to open education.

To learn more about open education at KPU, please visit kpu.ca/open.