{"id":13505,"date":"2026-08-10T12:38:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T19:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/?p=13505"},"modified":"2026-08-12T10:04:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T17:04:23","slug":"zero-textbook-cost-at-viu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/2026\/08\/10\/zero-textbook-cost-at-viu\/","title":{"rendered":"Zero Textbook Cost at VIU\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;VIU Students\u2019 Union (VIUSU),&nbsp;the Office of the Registrar, the Library, the CIEL and institutional stakeholders&nbsp;are partnering&nbsp;on a collaborative effort known as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/news.viu.ca\/blog\/what-vius-zero-textbook-cost-pilot-project\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC)<\/a>&nbsp;project.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The goal is to support access and affordability for students&nbsp;while&nbsp;maintaining&nbsp;academic quality&nbsp;by&nbsp;supporting faculty to engage with&nbsp;no-cost&nbsp;alternatives to commercial textbooks. There are substantial financial benefits to reducing or&nbsp;eliminating&nbsp;these costs, and there are also profound pedagogical and innovative teaching practices supported by these&nbsp;alternatives as well.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While many VIU instructors are already using free and open learning materials in their courses, whether through Open Educational Resources (OER), library-licensed content, instructor-created materials, or other no-cost alternatives to commercial textbooks, others may be interested in learning more about these approaches or may face barriers that make adoption challenging.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Currently, the project is working to:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>identify&nbsp;existing ZTC courses,&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>learn&nbsp;about faculty awareness&nbsp;and&nbsp;experiences with Open Educational Resources (OER) and&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>address&nbsp;challenges and&nbsp;leverage&nbsp;opportunities related to the use of affordable and open learning materials.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Survey:&nbsp;Share Your Perspective<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether you&nbsp;currently&nbsp;teach&nbsp;using&nbsp;OER, rely on commercial textbooks, combine multiple types of resources, or are&nbsp;simply curious about open education,&nbsp;please share your perspective&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/forms.monday.com\/forms\/3da79595aff901732ba7ef58f3921d1d?r=use1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">this&nbsp;survey<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The survey will help&nbsp;VIUSU and VIU&nbsp;better understand:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Awareness of ZTC and OER at VIU&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Current use of course materials and learning resources&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Factors that influence course material decisions&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Benefits and challenges associated with adopting ZTC approaches&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Supports and resources faculty would find valuable&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Opportunities to grow ZTC initiatives at VIU&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your feedback will help inform future planning, support services, and funding opportunities related to open education and affordable learning.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Already Teaching a Zero Textbook Cost Course?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If your students can complete your course without&nbsp;purchasing&nbsp;required textbooks or course materials, please help&nbsp;VIU&nbsp;make that information visible during registration.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>When&nbsp;submitting&nbsp;course information to Registration, include \u201cZTC\u201d in the Open Comments field.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If your course information has already been&nbsp;submitted, simply email&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:records@viu.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">records@viu.ca<\/a>&nbsp;with your course name, number, and section and request that the ZTC indicator be added.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ZTC&nbsp;designation helps students&nbsp;identify&nbsp;courses with no required textbook costs and supports informed course&nbsp;selection.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Resources and Support<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Interested in learning more about open education or Zero Textbook Cost courses?<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br><strong>Definition of \u201cZTC\u201d:&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An attribute that may apply to an individual course section or to an entire&nbsp;credentialled&nbsp;program in which students do not have to pay for required course materials. This can be achieved through using open educational resources, library-licensed materials, free instructor-created materials, and other learning materials with no cost to students. This term excludes supplemental items, such as lab coats and kits, goggles, calculators, art supplies, etc.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cZTC\u201d indicates that materials are available for free in at least one format, such as digital. The material may be available in other formats, such as print, for an optional cost.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Library Support<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The VIU Library can&nbsp;assist&nbsp;with locating, evaluating, and adapting open educational resources, as well as copyright and licensing questions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Contact: Caroline Korbel, Open Education and Copyright Librarian&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CIEL<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The CIEL team&nbsp;are&nbsp;available to help support faculty in integrating Open Educational Resources into your course design or redesign.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Contact:&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:learnsupport@viu.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">learnsupport@viu.ca<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>BCcampus<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bccampus.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BCcampus<\/a>&nbsp;offers a wide range of resources, professional learning opportunities, open textbooks, and tools to support instructors exploring open education. BCcampus has been a provincial leader in advancing OER and affordable learning across British Columbia.&nbsp;If&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;looking for an Open Textbook, you can&nbsp;<a href=\"\/Users\/buttone\/Downloads\/consult%20their%20B.C%20Open%20Collection\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">consult their&nbsp;extensive&nbsp;B.C Open Collection<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>VIU Students\u2019 Union (VIUSU)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VIUSU is partnering with the Office of the Registrar, the Library, Faculty, and institutional stakeholders to better understand and support ZTC opportunities at VIU. Reducing educational costs can help improve access and affordability for students while&nbsp;maintaining&nbsp;academic quality.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Survey contact: Janelle Wilson, Organizer, VIU Students\u2019 Union,&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:janelle.wilson@viusu.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">janelle.wilson@viusu.ca<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0VIU Students\u2019 Union (VIUSU),\u00a0the Office of the Registrar, the Library, the CIEL and institutional stakeholders\u00a0are partnering\u00a0on a collaborative effort known as\u00a0the Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC)\u00a0project.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Share your feedback and thoughts in a survey!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4408,"featured_media":13077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4408"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13505"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13509,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13505\/revisions\/13509"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}