OER
| What does OER mean? |
| Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research materials--digital or print that are in the public domain or have been released under an open license (often a Creative Commons license) that allows no-cost access, use, adaptation, and redistribution by others with limited or no restrictions. |
| How does OER different from copyrighted material? |
| OER is openly licensed, which means that any user can: Reuse - Content can be reused in its unaltered original format (e.g., in a class, in a study group, on a website, in a video) Retain - Copies of content can be retained for personal archives or reference Revise - Content can be modified or altered to suit specific needs Remix - Content can be adapted with other similar content to create something new Redistribute - Content can be shared with anyone else in its original or altered format |
| How do I know if there is OER for my discipline? |
| The availability of OER does vary across disciplines. A great starting place is the Academic Senate of the California Community College’s (ASCCC) Open Education Resources by Discipline. Another starting point the list of repositories on Laney’s OER website. |
| I provide a list of links or .pdfs of copyrighted material on my course site so students don't have to pay for texts. Is that OER? |
| No. OER is openly licensed work that you can legally use and generally adapt as well. In contrast, there are strict legal limits on what copyrighted materials you can provide to students. In addition, the CSU and UC review the texts for transferable courses and do not consider a list of links as an appropriate text. |
| Is there any evidence that OER increases student learning? |
| Yes, there is. Research done at the University of Georgia and Tidewater Community College, for example, showed that students in OER courses had higher completion rates and final grades compared to peers who use traditional textbooks. Low-income students showed the most improvement. |
| How do I know if the OER is high quality? |
| As with any text, you will need to evaluate the quality. However, keep in mind that most OER is created by other faculty, and projects funded by the ASCCC OERI have undergone peer review by discipline experts. |
ZTC
| What does ZTC mean? |
| ZTC stands for Zero Textbook Cost. Courses qualify as ZTC when the required instructional materials cost is zero to students, or there are NO assigned textbooks. |
| What are required instructional materials? |
| Required instructional materials include textbooks, workbooks, lab manuals, readers, specialized websites/software, and online homework systems. |
| What are non-instructional materials? |
| Supplementary materials that are required such as lab coats, goggles, calculators, art supplies, etc., are not considered instructional materials and do not count toward textbook costs. In other words, classes that are ZTC may still require these other materials. |
| Is the funding source for Zero Textbook Cost pathways public or private? |
| The funding for Zero Textbook Degrees comes from the State of California. In 2021, Governor Newsom signed legislation allocating $115 million for ZTC Degrees at California Community Colleges. |
LTC
| What does LTC mean? |
| Low Textbook Cost (LTC) sections are defined as sections where the total cost of required instructional materials does not exceed $50 if purchased new through the College Bookstore. To calculate the total cost of textbooks, use the pre-tax cost of all combined required textbooks. It doesn’t apply to the price of used or rental books. |
| Why is $50 the limit for LTC? |
| There is no statewide definition of what makes a course low-cost. The range for an LTC course is $30-50 around the state. At Peralta, we decided to use under $50 after consultation with faculty, students, and the bookstores. |
XB-12 (Class schedule data report)
| What is XB-12, the Instructional Materials Cost Data Element? |
| XB-12 is a section-level data element that all colleges need to provide to the state chancellor’s MIS (Management Information System) that reports the instructional material costs of sections offered each semester. |
| What are the categories we need to report? |
| The categories are defined by the state and are: A – Section has no associated instructional material B – Section uses only no-cost digital instructional materials (OER, library databases) C – Section has instructional material costs none of which are passed on to students (instructor provides copies of the teaching materials) D – Section has low instructional material costs (*as defined locally) (uses low-cost instructional materials, such as but not limited to, textbooks, workbooks, lab manuals, online homework, and required printouts, whose total combined cost does not exceed $50.) Y – Section does not meet no-cost or low-cost instructional material criteria |
| How does this relate to ZTC and LTC? |
| Categories A, B, and C help to identify ZTC courses, while category D refers to LTC classes. |
Reporting ZTC / LTC Courses
| What about courses where the instructor provides all of the instructional materials and textbooks for free? |
| This falls under category B or C, depending on whether the materials are online or hard copies. As long as no instructional material or textbook costs are passed onto students these sections are designated as ZTC. Courses with no textbooks can be listed as ZTC (in this case, category A). |
| What if a course uses free online textbooks that have an option to print or purchase for a fee? |
| In this scenario, you can report category B. It is ZTC since students can access the textbook for free online. As long as students are not required to print or purchase the textbook, the section can be marked ZTC. |
| How about if the lecture class uses an OER text but the lab requires a lab manual? |
| There are to possible scenarios here: One, if the lab manual costs less than $50 to purchase or print, the lecture and lab sections can be marked LTC. In other words, you need to report category D. Two, If the lab manual is entirely free to students AND there is no required textbook purchase, then the lecture and lab sections can be marked ZTC. In this case, you can report B or C. |
| What if instructional materials are recommended but not required? |
| If materials are recommended but not required, the course can be marked ZTC. That falls under category A. |
| What if students can purchase the textbook for under $50 on Amazon but the bookstore charges $70? Can I still have my section badged as LTC? |
| The LTC designation is based on the cost of new materials, not used or rental books as it cannot be guaranteed that enough used or rental copies are available for the entire class. All students must be able to purchase purchase the book(s) new for $50 or less. To calculate costs, use the pre-tax cost of new book(s) in the College Bookstore. While books may be less expensive elsewhere, students using financial aid must often purchase them from the bookstore. Furthermore, texts available at the bookstore are equally accessible to all students, regardless of their access to credit cards or a mailing address. Contact the bookstore manager for help with bookstore pricing. If it is $50 or less, then you can report category D (low cost). Otherwise, the course falls under category Y. |
| What if my class uses a free online textbook, but students are required to print out pages or other material? |
| If the cost of printing is under $50, then it is considered LTC. Because the printouts are required, it cannot be marked ZTC; therefore, you need to report category D. |
| What if my class is part of a two-part course sequence that uses the same book over two semesters, and the book is $90? Can it be marked as LTC? |
| No, it cannot because not all students take all of the courses in that sequence. They may take it at different colleges and with different instructors who may use different books. Students may not take the courses in sequence immediately and may have to buy a new textbook if the edition changes. In other words, this scenario falls under category Y. |
ZTC / LTC Courses in the Online Schedule
| How do sections get a LTC or ZTC badge in the online schedule? |
| When classes are sent to the college scheduler by the department chair, there will be a column on the Excel spreadsheet where faculty/chairs will mark what badge the class should have (A,B,C,D,Y). Because of this new reporting element (XB-12) each instructor must report the cost associated with their required instructional materials. |
| Who can I contact to ensure that my section is badged appropriately in the online schedule? |
| Contact your department chair to ensure that your section is badged appropriately, and they will work with Deans and the college scheduler to make any required updates or changes. We recommend checking the online schedule once it is published to make sure that your course is listed accurately. |
| What is the benefit of having an LTC or ZTC icon? |
| Students can easily see which classes are no or low cost. Studies have shown that students enroll in ZTC and LTC classes more than non ZTC and LTC classes. |
| What if a course is marked as ZTC or LTC but the instructor is replaced by a new instructor? Does the new instructor have to keep the ZTC or LTC designation? |
| No. Faculty have the right to choose their instructional materials. Some departments use the same texts for multiple sections, but instructors ultimately make their own decisions about their materials. If the new instructor chooses materials that would change the ZTC or LTC designation, they should notify the Dean, Department Chair, and campus scheduler so that the designation is removed from the online schedule. Enrolled students should also be notified of the change. |
| Will courses using OER transfer to the UC and CSU? |
| The articulation statement from the CSU and UC (2017) is as follows: |
Attribution/Licensing Statement
“Frequently Asked Questions” by Laney College Open Educationl Resources Committee is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. Derivative of:
- “OER, ZTC, and Low-Cost FAQs” by Jenny Yap, Heather Dodge, Adoria Williams, Olga Fish, YiPing Wang, and ASCCC-OERI, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- “NSU Libraries Open Education Resources (OER) LibGuide“, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
