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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 and LTC

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

OER

Open Educational Resources refers to all the resources faculty use to teach a course. In our case this usually means the textbook but can refer to readings, videos, or any ancillary materials used to teach that are free to use. “Openly licensed” materials that permit the user to retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute. 

ZTC

Zero Textbook Cost is no associated costs for students for required textbooks, students may need to be purchased items such as calculators, lab coats, and goggles. ZTC does not presume materials are digital or openly licensed. ZTC resources may have a cost, but that cost is not passed along to students. (per SB1359 refers to= “courses that exclusively use digital course materials that are free of charge to students and may have a low-cost option for print versions") 

LTC

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

 

More can be found in XB12 course designations

What is OER?

ZTC = Zero Textbook Cost

California 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)