McMaster University has launched a new survey to better understand how the costs of textbooks and other required course materials affect undergraduate students.
The McMaster Textbook Affordability Survey, organized by the McMaster Open Educational Resources (OER) team with support from McMaster Students Union, will help capture student experiences to guide future affordability initiatives.
“Without data it’s hard to know what support is needed, so we’re hoping this survey will help us learn more,” said Katie Harding, OER and STEM librarian. “Are students deciding not to buy books due to cost? Has the work we’ve been doing to support the creation of adaptation of OER at McMaster made a difference?”
Part of the global Open Access movement, OER are teaching, learning, and research materials that can be used, shared, or modified based on their open-licence permissions.
The group leading the survey consists of Katie Harding, Rebecca Bekele, and Joanne Kehoe (Office of the Vice-Provost, Teaching & Learning).
Survey results will be published in a report on the McMaster OER LibGuide by May 2026.
Rebecca Bekele, a third-year Health Sciences student who helped design the survey while working as a Student OER Advocate in the libraries, says the open-access materials have supported her learning and saved her money.
“In some of my statistics courses last year, there were a lot of open educational resources, and it made a huge difference in my learning,” she said. “If I wasn’t understanding something with the standard textbook, I could go to these other free resources where concepts were explained differently, sometimes with a quiz, and I was able to supplement my learning through that.”
Since 2020, McMaster’s OER grant program has supported faculty in adopting and developing open materials, often involving students directly through co-creation or open pedagogy assignments that contribute to openly licensed resources. To date, OER created through the grant program have saved McMaster students an estimated $700,000.
The OER grant program is supported by the Office of the Provost, McMaster University Libraries, the MacPherson Institute, and McMaster Students Union.
Harding says OER align with the libraries’ goal of supporting learning and teaching.
“Libraries have always been about providing access to as much information as we can for our students, for faculty, and for everyone we serve,” said Harding. “We’re trying to make sure that all of our students at McMaster have access to the educational materials they need.”
About the survey
Students are invited to share their experiences with purchasing textbooks and other course materials by completing McMaster’s Textbook Affordability Survey. The survey will remain open until October 31, 2025.
The survey will only take approximately 5 minutes to complete, and participation is voluntary. To participate, you must be a current McMaster undergraduate student.
In appreciation for participating, students will have the option to enter a draw to win one of ten $50 gift cards. All survey responses provided in the McMaster Textbook Affordability Survey will remain anonymous and will not be connected to your draw entry.
If you have any questions about this survey, please contact the McMaster Open Educational Resources team at oer@mcmaster.ca.
This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance by the McMaster Research Ethics Board (#7785).
Learn more
For more information, visit the OER LibGuide or email the OER team.
