Skip to Main Content

Fullerton College Library

OER: Open Educational Resources: What is OER?

This guide on OER (Open Educational Resources) is designed to give FC faculty some basic information that will encourage the adoption and implementation of OER in their courses.

What is OER and ZTC

OER and ZTC are basically the same thing for most purposes.

Because they are used so interchangeably in teaching, here is a bit of an explainer.

OER

OER is Open Educational Resources and refers to all the resources faculty uses to teach a class. This usually means the textbook but can refer to readings, videos, or anything else needed to teach that are free to the student and usually available online in some format. There can be some things that do need to be purchased, such as calculators, lab coats, and goggles.

ZTC

ZTC is Zero Textbook Cost and refers to all the readings that are digital and free of cost. Students want to know if they have to buy a book or not and this makes more sense to them.  ZTC was adopted by the State of California for language referring to OER and is used in the schedule

LTC

LTC is Low Textbook Cost and refers to a textbook is a course designation of class sections that use texts and/or materials that cost a total of $40 or less combined.

What is OER?

ZTC = Zero Textbook Cost

The State has established parameters for what constitutes “zero-textbook-cost”:

  • If all assigned textbooks are optional for the section.
  • If all assigned textbooks are identified as Open Educational Resource (OER) textbooks. 
  • If the assigned textbooks (including course readers) are available online for free (i.e., through library databases OR as check outs) AND students are not required to buy a physical copy ​(Note: for course readers and online materials, faculty are responsible for adhering to copyright and accessibility requirements).
  • If there is no assigned textbook.

Other considerations:

  • Lab materials or required supplies are not considered a textbook cost, so if a course section meets the parameters noted above, but do require a materials fee – then the section WOULD qualify as a ZTC class. 
  • If students need to pay fees to access a software platform to do coursework or homework, this counts as a textbook cost.  The course section would NOT qualify.

 

What is OER

Open Educational Resources are:

  • Reside in the public domain or under a license that allows free use and repurposing, such as a Creative Commons license
  • Includes resources that are legally available and free to students
  • Include, but are not limited to, full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, faculty-created content, streaming videos, tests, and software

What is OER?   (Video: CC BY 4.0 Music: The Zeppelin by Blue Dot Sessions: CC BY NC 4.0)