URSU supports the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) which can reduce the barriers to post-secondary education for people of all backgrounds. OER can mean the use of open-access textbooks, but it can also refer to the use of open courseware, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. Ideally, OER will be used for all entry-level courses, while later courses with more specialized knowledge could be taught using textbooks available at certain libraries.
Zero-Cost Material Courses
What is a zero-cost material course?
A zero-cost material course is a course that exclusively uses teaching materials and resources freely available and easily accessible to students. Zero-cost teaching materials and resources may include open-access books and other open-access educational resources available through various online platforms as well as digital books, journal articles, and other types of educational resources that are easily and freely available to students through the University Library’s online services.
I want to use OER, too!
The most plausible way to increase the use of OER at this time is to discuss the value of it with your peers and colleagues and to ask your instructor, professor, department, or faculty to adopt wider use of OER. The BCcampus OpenEd website lists over 250 Open Access Textbooks that may be suitable for your classes. CNX from Rice University lists even more, as does MERLOT. The UofR also has its own Open Access Textbooks available for a limited number of classes and runs an Open Textbook Program.
