In Spring 2025, UFV was selected as one of the three institutions to receive an Open Educational Institutional Grant from BCcampus, valued at $33,000. The proposal also included additional funding for projects (i.e. Open Education Student Assistant and Open Education Microgrant Program) from the Office of the Provost and Vice President, Academic. The culmination of these funds will support various projects grouped together as UFV's Open Education In-Action Initiative, 2025-2026 which will be managed by UFV Library and Teaching and Learning departments.
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The Open Education In-Action Initiative will support Open Education Strategist (open to internal Type B Teaching Faculty) and two Open Education Student Assistant positions who will help development an open education strategy for UFV. This strategy will include the launch of ZTC courses and programs and that meets the university's vision, mission, and values as well as goals of Íyáqáwtxw and the SEM plan which will build on existing projects and efforts to promote and advocate for open education at UFV.
Open Education In-Action Initiative projects for 2025-2026 (see details below):
For more information or questions about the program, please send a message to Janelle Sztuhar or Claire Hay at openeducation@ufv.ca
The Open Education In-Action Initiative will support an Open Education Strategist (open to internal Type B Teaching Faculty) from Sept. 1, 2025 to Apr. 30, 2026. This position is entirely funded through the BCcampus OE Institutional Grant. Their responsibilities will include (subject to change as needs are further identified):
The Open Education In-Action Initiative will also include two Open Education Student Assistant positions, one in each of the Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 semesters. The student assistants will work closely with the Open Education Strategist to build open education awareness among students and bring a student lens to the work developing a UFV-wide open education strategy. One Student Assistant position will be funded through the BCcampus OE Institutional Grant while the second position will be funded through the Office of the Provost and Vice President, Academic.
The University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) Open Education Micro Grant Program (OEMGP) will support 8 short-term projects (Sept. 1, 2025 to Feb. 28, 2026) to create, develop or modify open education resources to be used in UFV courses as well as similar courses elsewhere. The OEMGP will provide funding for Open Education Student Assistants to help faculty/staff supervisors with their projects. Funding for these projects will be managed by the Library and provided by the Office of the Provost and Vice President, Academic.
One of the projects for the Open Education Strategists will be to meet with members of the UFV community to create an Open Education Strategy for the university. This document will ensure open education is a priority and that supports are formally acknowledged and built into workflows.
In Fall 2025, UFV will be launching a Zero Textbook Cost Program. Part of the work of the Open Education Strategist will be to consult with the UFV community on how to create an implementation plan for this work.
The UFV Library is allocating funds from its 2025-2026 acquisition budget towards monograph purchases that directly support ZTC course transition at UFV. Since traditionally published content will remain integral to education practices for the foreseeable future, it is important to lower costs for students wherever possible by leveraging the use of existing and future Library resources. To be considered for purchase, the monograph must be available in an eBook format with multiple simultaneous user access, preferably DRM-free. Textbooks will not be considered. Priority will be given to the most impactful purchases as determined by information such as course enrollment numbers, frequency of course offerings, and cost of resources that will be replaced.
ZTC requests will be via online form (to be posted shortly) or email martin.warkentin@ufv.ca
Alternatively, many course readings may already be available through the Library. Faculty can submit their reading lists and/or syllabi to the Course Resources Service:
