Free Textbooks  

Everything you need to know about ZTC and OER at CCSF

QUICK GLOSSARY 

 OER 
Open Educational Resources

Free educational resources that can be reused, repurposed, adapted and redistributed 

 ZTC 
Zero Textbook Cost

Students do not incur any costs when
purchasing course materials

 LTC 
Low Textbook Cost

Students incur costs less than $50 when purchasing course materials

ZTC PATHWAYS GRANT INFORMATION

A Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Pathway is a credit degree that can be completed using OER or other free materials instead of traditional textbooks. The goal is to reduce or eliminate the financial burden of purchasing expensive textbooks for students, making college more affordable and accessible.

The Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Pathways Grant is a 2022 funding initiative in collaboration with the California Community College Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) and the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC). Designed to support California Community College faculty to create and implement courses that use no-cost or low-cost educational resources instead of traditional textbooks. Visit the phases page to learn more about CCSF + ZTC funded projects.

ZTC is an Equity Issue

7/10

California Community College students experienced homelessness, housing insecurity or food insecurity in 2018*

7%

Course Success Gap between Student Equity Groups and average College Success Rate at CCSF ** 

Butte College saved students $2 million over 5 years after adopting ZTC measures. Read the report.

Q&A

What is the difference between OER and ZTC?

OER refers to actual educational materials that are free, openly licensed and repurposed. OER can include textbooks, slideshows, videos, images and more. 

ZTC is a designation for courses that use OER and/or other free educational materials to accomplish classroom instruction. This can include library e-books or web resources. 

If I wrote or created it, do I own it?

No, not necessarily. Unless something you created with express permissions to reside in the public domain or are under copyright that have been released under an open license, that permit no-cost access, re-use, re-purpose, adaptation and redistribution by others. 

Should I share my textbook with the CCSF bookstore, even if it's OER?

Yes! The bookstore is a centralized platform for students to access textbooks and learning materials. Sharing your OER textbook with the bookstore helps students plan ahead of time, and makes them findable within the library database. 

What can I do to make my course ZTC or LTC?

You can begin by finding out how much learning resources cost to take your class by using the library bookstore. If the cost is over $50, then your class is not LTC. 

To get started on finding vetted OER materials for your class,  email CCSF OER librarian Megdi Abebe (mabebe@ccsf.edu) to get started on your journey. 

The OER librarian can assist you on

I have more questions, who can I ask?

CCSF has growing group of faculty, staff and students who are dedicated to expanding OER. 

Cynthia Dewar cdewar@ccsf.edu
Dean, Online Program, Educational Technology, Library, and Learning Resources

Amy McLanahan amclanah@ccsf.edu
Math Department Faculty & OER Coordinator 

Megdi Abebe mabebe@ccsf.edu
OER Librarian