Paying for Textbooks Shouldn’t Be a Debt Sentence: A Guide for Course Affordability at MRU

Choosing to pursue post-secondary education is a significant investment in your future, and includes costs for tuition, fees, and course materials.

The estimated yearly cost of books and supplies for an MRU student is $1,500 — a cost which can be a significant barrier to academic success. But thanks to advocacy from your elected representatives, some instructors are beginning to implement Open Educational Resources (OERs) and Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) initiatives.

OERs are teaching and learning resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license, meaning they are free for anyone to use, adapt, and share. 

ZTCs refer to initiatives aimed at reducing the cost of course materials through the use of Open Educational Resources. Some examples of OERs include:

  • Open Textbooks
  • Lesson Plans
  • Open Access Journals
  • Library Reserves
  • Podcasts, Audios, Videos
  • Public Domain Books

Here at SAMRU, your Representation Executive Council (REC) team is taking a leading role in advocating for course affordability through encouraging the use of OERs by professors at MRU.

Does MRU Have OERs?

Yes! In fact, MRU has many sources of Open Educational Resources you can easily access in person and online.

These resources include, but aren’t limited to:

  • MRU Library:
    • The Library hosts thousands of books, articles, research resources and provides user access to platforms such as Ebook Central – Proquest, EBSCO eBooks, Scholar’s Portal, and more. 
    • As an MRU student, you can also access educational information through booking appointments with Librarians or at Student Learning Services with Writing and Learning Strategists, as well as attend various workshops.
  • MROAR: Mount Royal Open Access Repository
    • This is a digital showcase of the research and teaching materials from the MRU community. It is free access, and available for students to deposit approved research and access materials.
  • Other OER Search Engines Include:
What is REC Doing About Course Affordability?

OERs are the future of education, but they only work if you can find them. To bridge that gap, REC is excited to announce the launch of the Course Affordability Tracker (CAT), a central hub that tracks courses which have low or zero-cost materials.

By using this form, Students and faculty at MRU can input any courses that they’ve taken or taught with low or zero-cost course materials, which will then be integrated into CAT by your REC team. 

Students will be able to access CAT through the SAMRU website, allowing them to make informed decisions and prioritize affordability during the course registration process.

Please note: While the CAT is a powerful planning tool, course requirements are set by departments and can change; a zero-cost materials listing is a helpful guide rather than a guarantee.

How Can I Get Involved?

A great way to encourage the use of OERs is to celebrate them! Do you know any professors who encourage the use of OERs? Did you have classes where there was low or no course material cost?

If so, you can get involved in these ways:

  1. Email representation@samru.ca to tell us which courses you’ve taken that have low or zero course material cost! 
  2. Nominate a professor for SAMRU’s Open Education Champion Award! This award celebrates faculty members who employ low or zero course material costs in their courses. The award application is open each year from January to the end of February.

Paying for textbooks shouldn’t be a debt sentence. If you want to explore the OERs that MRU has, feel free to check out the MRU Library website and reach out to representation@samru.ca.