| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.26 |
| Liaison | Matt Wolsfeld |
| Submission Date | March 21, 2023 |
University of Saskatchewan
IN-41: Textbook Affordability
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.50 / 0.50 |
Matt
Wolsfeld Community Engagement Co-ordinator Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution host a peer-to-peer textbook exchange program, textbook lending library, or alternate textbook project?:
A brief description of the textbook exchange program, textbook lending library, or alternate textbook project:
Most course reserves are digital resources that can be accessed directly from the Library Course Reserves module in USask students' Canvas courses.
Some courses have physical items like books that are on reserve at one of USask's libraries. The location of these items is listed in the Canvas course tools and students can access them at the library services desk.
Course Reserves:
Course reserves is a library service that works with instructors to make course readings and other assigned materials accessible directly in Canvas, our campus learning management system. Students access course reserves items as links or PDFs directly in their Canvas course alongside their syllabus and other course information.
Does the institution provide incentives for academic staff that explicitly encourage the authorship, peer review, and/or adoption of open access textbooks?:
A brief description of the incentives to encourage the authorship, peer review, and/or adoption of open access textbooks:
As the cost of textbooks continues to rise, an increasing number of educators and students are looking at open textbooks and other open educational resources (OER) as an option. This section includes links to open textbook libraries and OER repositories.
There have been two open textbooks created and adapted at the University of Saskatchewan already, and four more are in production. As they are completed, you can find them in our open textbook library.
During the 2020-2021 academic year, at least 9,000 students in six colleges and schools at USask are using open textbooks instead of commercial textbooks, saving them approximately $800,000. Students have saved more than $2.5 million since USask launched the open textbook initiative during the 2014-2015 academic year.
Website URL where information about the textbook affordability incentives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.