Opening Access: How One Faculty Member is Using OERs to Make Learning More Affordable at the University of Waterloo

As the cost of post-secondary education continues to rise, students are increasingly feeling the financial strain of textbooks and course materials. One solution gaining momentum across campuses is the use of Open Educational Resources (OERs) freely accessible, openly licensed learning materials that anyone can use, adapt, and share. 

At the University of Waterloo, faculty members are beginning to explore how OERs can make education more equitable and accessible. Among them is Dr. Abel Torres Espin, an assistant professor in the School of Public Health Sciences, who is developing an open textbook for his Health Data Science course. 

Through a recent interview with Amir Tabatabaie, Torres Espin shared why he believes open resources are not just helpful, they’re essential. 

What are OERs? 

Open Educational Resources include textbooks, lecture notes, videos, and other teaching materials that are freely available online under open licenses. Unlike traditional textbooks, students can access them at no cost, and instructors can adapt or remix them to better fit their course needs. 

For Torres Espin, the philosophy behind OERs aligns closely with his commitment to open science and knowledge sharing. 

“Free resources are very useful… students already have a high cost of having higher education. And so, if this helps to reduce the cost and access to knowledge and information, I always [believe] knowledge will be as much as possible free and accessible to everyone.” 

Why create an open textbook? 

Torres Espin first encountered OERs years ago through his advocacy for open science. When preparing to teach Introduction to Health Data Science, he saw an opportunity: instead of asking students to purchase an expensive textbook, why not create one that anyone could access for free? 

Because he was already generating course content, turning it into an open textbook felt like a natural extension of his teaching. 

“Especially if you’re going to be generating the content anyway for a new course, why not making it free and available?” 

His textbook will be released with an open license, meaning students can read it online without cost. For those who prefer physical copies, they can pay only the printing cost. He’s also considering optional donations, creating a model that prioritizes access while still allowing flexibility. 

Improving affordability and access 

The financial impact of OERs can be significant. Removing textbook costs means students don’t have to choose between paying for materials and other essential expenses. 

At Waterloo, student advocacy and institutional support have already demonstrated measurable results. According to the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), OER initiatives funded through the Staebler and UW Library funds have saved thousands of students hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. Staebler-funded projects alone helped 8,070 students save $672,040 per year, while combined funding supported 8,700 students and generated $720,540 in annual savings. 

These outcomes directly align with WUSA’s Long Range Plan, which prioritizes affordability and equitable access to learning by supporting open textbooks and reducing financial barriers for students. By replacing costly commercial materials with free, openly licensed alternatives, OERs help students keep more of their money while ensuring they still receive high-quality academic resources. 

Projects like Torres Espin’s build on this momentum, showing how faculty-led efforts directly reduce barriers to learning. 

Beyond cost savings, OERs also improve access. Students can download materials on day one, rather than waiting to buy or share books. This ensures everyone starts the course on equal footing. 

Addressing quality concerns 

A common misconception about OERs is that free materials must be lower quality. Torres Espin challenges this idea, noting that many open textbooks meet or exceed the standards of commercial alternatives. 

“There is a perception that OERs in general might be lower quality in terms of content. I will probably disagree with that perception… at this point in time there’s probably very good alternatives to paid textbooks in all the OER repositories that are available on the internet.” 

Because instructors can customize content, OERs may be more relevant and up to date than traditional textbooks, which can become outdated quickly. 

Looking ahead 

While Waterloo has many open resources available, integrating them more seamlessly into course platforms could make adoption even easier. Torres Espin hopes more instructors will consider OERs when designing new courses asking not, “Which textbook should students buy?” but “Do students need to buy one at all?” 

His project represents a broader shift in post-secondary education: moving from proprietary materials toward shared knowledge and collaborative learning. 

As educators rethink the role of textbooks, OERs offer a simple but powerful promise high-quality education that is accessible to everyone. And as Torres Espin suggests, if the content already exists, making it open just makes sense. 

Maliha Karim  

Communications Assistant