Kwantlen Polytechnic University is launching Canada’s third Zed Cred during Open Education Week during March 4 – 8, 2019.
The new Zed Cred is in the Associate of Arts in General Studies, which is a 60-credit two-year program.
“This is an important initiative for students in the Faculty of Arts. With zero textbook costs, students in the two-year program can focus on quality education and other commitments without worrying about how to pay for books,” says Diane Purvey, dean in the Faculty of Arts.
The "Z" in Zed Cred refers to zero textbook costs by way of using open educational resources and library materials, while the “Cred” means that you can complete all the courses in an academic program and earn a credential without spending money on expensive textbooks. KPU introduced Canada’s first Zed Cred, a Certificate in Arts, in November 2017 and began offering an Adult Graduation diploma Zed Cred last summer.
Rajiv Jhangiani, KPU’s special advisor to the provost on open education, estimates that since the first Zed Cred was launched more than 16,000 students saved over $1.60 million in textbook costs by taking one or more courses that didn’t use traditional textbooks.
“The high cost of commercial textbooks shouldn’t be a barrier for academic success,” he says.
Jhangiani, an international leader in open education, says the latest Zed Cred is the equivalent of awarding a $2,000 scholarship to every student in the program.
He expects to launch more Zed Creds in the future.
“This is driven by our faculty, who already lead the country in the adoption of open textbooks and are increasingly availing of our in-house expertise to publish high quality and interactive open textbooks,” he adds.
Learn more about the Zed Cred program.