Cash-strapped U of C students seek alternatives to expensive textbooks
University of Calgary students squeezed by rapidly escalating costs are seeking the province's help to create and access free studying material.
Students challenged by tuition fees that have risen by 25 per cent since 2019, government spending cuts, changes to student loan programs and now runaway inflation are at a difficult juncture, said Shaziah Jinnah Morsette, vice-president academic of the U of C Students' Union (SU).
“We were seeing a cost crunch even before this inflation surge. … Students aren't just broke, they're at a breaking point,” said Jinnah Morsette, who added that engineering students have seen tuition costs rise by 60 per cent over the past three years.
“They're not necessarily feeling a higher quality of education to go with that.”
Those costs are felt even more acutely by international students who pay considerably more for tuition, she said.
One way to roll back those costs would be developing or accessing more open educational resources (OERS) — materials that bypass traditional copyrighted textbooks that add a considerable expense for students, she said.
Those comprise a range of research and teaching resources, from videos, presentations and free textbooks accessible through an open copyright licence.
They offer a flexibility often lost in traditional textbooks, she added.
“They can be developed by professors themselves, and improve the quality of instruction because they can be adapted and updated,” said Jinnah Morsette.
Enhancing access to OERS also increases educational equity, she said. “The cost (of textbooks) is unfair to those who can't afford them and an advantage to those who can.”
A 2018 Maclean's survey of textbook costs put them at an annual average of nearly $800 per student, a figure that's almost certainly higher now, said Jinnah Morsette.
Though she's now accessing OERS in her fourth year of neuroscience studies, Sandra Amin echoed the call for more government support in expanding their availability.
“There's only a few classes that do it so there's definitely a need to push for those resources and have more professors use them,” said Amin, 20.
“Tuition has obviously increased tremendously and those textbooks are pretty hefty in price — the costs aren't sustainable.”
Amin said she encountered the high costs of textbooks earlier in her studies at U of C and has been impressed with OERS.
“There's interactive learning and when doing a problem, there's feedback. … They're more tailored and adaptable,” she said.
Fifth-year bachelor of commerce student Daniel Fine said more OERS would bring financial relief.
“I'm definitely on board with that,” he said. “Textbooks are easily one of the more tangible costs.”
Fine, 23, said he pays a tuition differential that bumps up the cost of attending the Haskayne School of Business, adding he's “felt the burden on my finances.”
Professors, he said, could also make courses compatible with older textbooks to enhance affordability for students.
In 2021, the SU committed to investing $500,000 in OERS over five years, which led to the hiring of a summer librarian that has further proven the resources' benefits, said Jinnah Morsette.
And OER investments made by the Ontario and B.C. governments has saved students in those province $40 million, she said.
Though the Alberta government has mentioned the resources in its advanced education policy, it's not clear those investments will be made, said Jinnah Morsette.
“Alberta continues to lag behind,” she said.
The province is open to working with universities and students to provide more of those resources, said a spokesperson for Alberta Advanced Education.
“At the same time, we'll continue making investments so that Alberta's post-secondary students are able to access financial aid and assistance to support their studies,” Mckenzie Kibler said in an email.
“Budget 2022-23 makes $167 million available to students in financial assistance, including $54.4 million for the Alberta Student Grant, $12 million for new scholarships and $15 million for the New Beginnings Bursary.”
She also said the government will provide 1,000 bursaries worth $5,000 each for three years for low-income students in high-demand areas such as aerospace, aviation, financial technology, energy and finance.