Students could have their book costs cut in half
Alberta students could have the cost of their textbooks cut in half, Advanced Education Minister Doug Horner told the Edmonton Journal in a end of year interview. He wants to create an online depository of e-books. “We’ll build a little cloud (space on the Internet) where we’ll have all these textbooks,” he said. “Because isn’t the objective to help the student achieve, as opposed to paying a stipend to whoever wrote a book?” To implement the plan, Horner, would have to overcome significant obstacles, Todd Anderson, who runs the University of Alberta bookstore, warned. Professors cannot be coerced to assign a particular book just because it is available for a reduced cost online, and publishers might be unwilling to lower the price of their books or remove restrictions that prevent students from accessing e-books after six months.