B.C. students say they are #textbookbroke

Some students in B.C. aretaking to social media to show that they are#textbookbroke.

The student societies at UVic, UBC and SFU are runningawareness campaigns to show just how much of a student's budget is now eaten up by purchasing textbooks.

"Over the last 10 years, prices have risen four times the rate of inflation in the textbook industry," said Maxwell Nicholson, the director of campaigns and community relations for the University of Victoria Student Society.

UVSS is posting photos of students with their textbook bill on social media to draw attention to the issue.

Students were surveyed this week as they left the campus bookstore at UVic, and the average textbook bill was about $500, Nicholson said.

Somein faculties such as engineering paid up to $1,000, he added.

Push for open education

Students are also hoping the campaign will push university administrators and the provincial government to makemore educational resources available for free online.

"We also understand that the quality of the resources is the most important factor and often what makes the final decision for the professors,"Nicholson toldAll Points Westhost Robyn Burns.

"But we are also encouraging for affordability to be part of the discussion."

Some professors are already embracing the idea andadopting free textbooks for their courses, Nicholson said.

For example,Earth and Ocean Sciences 120offered at UVic recently switched from a printed textbook worth $123.50 to a free online textbook offered through theB.C. CampusOpen Textbook Project.

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