Listen to what Thor Borgford, our Vice President, Academic, and Provost, has to say about Open Educational Resources.
The Vice President Academic & Provost, in collaboration with the Douglas College Student Union (DSU), have established incentive grants, to encourage College faculty to adopt Open Educational Resources (OERs). 
Open Textbooks
Individuals, or teams teaching multi-section courses, that have adopted, adapted, or created an open textbook may apply for the incentive grant. Successful individual applicants are eligible to receive up to $500 towards the professional development activity of their choosing. Teams may receive up to $1500 towards a group event, project, or activity.
Zero Cost/Low Cost Supplementary Resources
Individuals, or teams teaching multi-sections courses, that have replaced commercial supplementary resources with zero cost or low cost supplementary resources may apply for the incentive grant. Successful individual applicants are eligible to receive up to $250 towards the professional development activity of their choosing. Zero cost/Low Cost materials may include library resources and digital coursepacks. Please see our Zero cost/Low Cost Terms of Reference for more details
For more information or help finding OER, please contact Debra Flewelling, Open Education Librarian
In August of 2022, Sam published Professional Writing Today: A Functional Approach as an OER textbook for first-year post-secondary students taking professional writing courses.
In January of 2023, he published Public Speaking for Today’s Audiences and, in April 2023, he published a third OER textbook, Public Relations: From Strategy to Action.
In August of 2023, Sam published Social Media & Reputation Management. He is also the editor of an OER collection of case studies: Public Relations Case Studies: Strategies & Actions.
"Creating and providing open educational resources (OER) was the first step towards reducing the financial impact on students, and as a result of the substantial success of B.C. Open Education, the next logical progression was to go beyond open textbooks for individual courses and target programs that enable students to earn a credential such as a certificate program or associate degree with zero textbook costs."
https://bccampus.ca/projects/open-education/zed-cred-z-degrees/
Open Educational Resources are changing post-secondary education, not just because technology makes textbooks more affordable and portable for students, but because the platform is amendable to a wide variety of digital materials that can be updated easily. These features enable students to engage with their learning in different ways and provide opportunities for faculty to contribute their expertise to maintain the currency of content and to expand the range of ancillary materials available to support instruction. The use of open educational resources is expanding as students and faculty gain experience with them and recognize their benefits. Douglas College fully supports the adoption of open education resources for students and encourages faculty to explore them and share their experiences.
Many of our students struggle to make ends meet while finishing their credentials. Notably, the cost of textbooks has become a particular burden to our students, who too often simply avoid textbook purchases. Open textbooks among other OERs are beginning to have a large, positive impact on student finances and student acquisition of textbooks. Consequently, open textbooks are improving student outcomes. We are very fortunate in BC to have widespread support for OERs, from government, post-secondary administration and, most critically, our faculty/instructors.
