Source: BC News Release via Academica | January 10, 2014
The British Columbia government says its open textbook project has benefited almost 300 PSE students, who saved an average of $146 each on textbook costs for the fall 2013 semester. The project, which launched in September, offers students free, online, open textbooks for 40 of the most popular subject areas. “…The benefits for students and faculty will continue to grow as we develop open textbooks for more subjects, and more instructors around the province have a chance to review and use them in their classes,” says BC’s Advanced Education Minister Amrik Virk. This expansion includes 20 open textbooks for skills training and technical PSE subject areas.
TCS Insights: By making online textbooks more accessible to students, the government of British Columbia is attempting to make a post-secondary education a possibility for all students. It is this attitude towards higher learning that makes BC a learning destination for students from Canada and across the world.