Abbotsford – Cutting the cost on university text books? Where do I sign up?
After years of dedication, two University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) educators are being recognized for their leadership in open education and their commitment to reducing textbook costs for students. Claire Hay, a teaching and learning specialist, and Martin Warkentin, UFV’s collections librarian, are the recipients of the BC campus Award for Excellence in Open Education.
Hay and Warkentin were nominated in recognition of half a decade of collaborative work supporting open educational resources (OER) and Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) initiatives at UFV — efforts that continue to make post-secondary education more accessible and affordable for students.
Open educational resources are teaching and learning materials that are free to use, adapt, and share. At UFV, OER (along with other no-cost materials) play a central role in Zero Textbook Cost courses, which are designed so students do not need to purchase required textbooks and other course materials. Together, OER and ZTC courses support affordability, flexibility, and equitable access to education.
For Hay, the work is deeply rooted in the belief that education should be accessible to all students, regardless of financial circumstance.
“Accessibility is at the heart of why I do this work,” she says. “When we remove cost barriers through open education, we open doors for students to fully engage in their learning.”
Over the past five years, the duo has worked closely to advance open education across the university. Warkentin provides open education leadership through the UFV Library, while Hay brings a Teaching and Learning Centre perspective. Together, they have supported faculty in exploring, adopting, and creating OER, helping expand the number of ZTC courses available to students.
Their work has included establishing an institutional open education working group and managing a range of funding opportunities, from internal micro-grants to external BCcampus funding. These supports have enabled faculty and students to develop open resources tailored specifically to UFV courses.
Warkentin says the most rewarding part of the work is seeing its impact on campus firsthand.
“You see the difference when students can start a course on day one without worrying about textbook costs,” he says. “That’s when the value of open education really comes to life.”
As leaders in open education, Hay and Warkentin have helped foster a culture at UFV that values collaboration, innovation, and access. Through advocacy, professional development, and campus-wide engagement, they have raised awareness of how OER and ZTC courses can support high-quality teaching and learning while easing financial pressure on students.
Most recently, UFV was awarded a BCcampus Open Education Institutional Grant for the 2025/26 fiscal year. Under this grant, Hay, Janelle Sztuhar, and Shaun Sun are driving UFV’s Open Education in Action initiative, which includes relaunching micro-grants and developing an institutional open education strategy to further strengthen open education and ZTC efforts across the university. Warkentin remains involved with open education work at UFV but has passed the torch to fellow librarian Sztuhar for this next phase of work.
Faculty and students interested in learning more about OER and Zero Textbook Cost courses can explore UFV’s open education resources through the UFV Library and the Teaching and Learning Centre.
