The Library, CTLT, and the Registrar's Office are exploring how to support recruitment and retention of students by reducing the cost of learning, specifically the high cost of textbooks.  A survey in 2017 reported that over 50% of students surveyed chose not to purchase textbooks for at least one course in their program and stated that "the high cost of textbooks has a measurable and negative impact on the educational choices and outcomes of post-secondary students in British Columbia". (Jhangiani & Jhangiani, 2017). 

We plan to create a zero textbook cost (ZTC) course attribute in the DCU whereby instructors can self-select courses that would qualify as ZTC.  Students would then be able to identify whether a course is a ZTC course at the point of registration, similar to what is already being offered at other post-secondary institutions such as Kwantlen, BCIT, or the University of Alberta.

This program is still in the planning stages, but we would appreciate any feedback that you have so we can make it as seamless and valuable as possible. 

Proposed timeline:

• Fall 2025 - introduce project and gather feedback from the university community
• Winter 2026 - attribute available in DCU for self selection by instructors
• Fall 2026 - attribute searchable by students for Fall 2026 courses
• Spring 2026 - report on results of project

“Zero textbook cost” means a student does not incur any costs for accessing course materials and is a great way to increase the accessibility of learning materials for all students.  

You can achieve this by:

• having no required textbook,
• assigning open educational resources (OER), such as an open textbook,
• assigning UNBC Library resources that are free for students,
• assigning instructor-created resources, such as instructor notes or other resources posted on Moodle,
• assigning free online resources.