Zero Textbook Cost Classes

Zero Textbook Cost, or ZTC for short, refers to classes or a course section that:

• does not require the purchase of a textbook
• use free online textbooks
• uses free Library resources
• don't require a textbook at all

In other words, there is zero cost for textbooks in these courses.

1. Textbook costs are a barrier for students to enter and complete a course. Oftentimes, textbooks cost more than the price of tuition at a community college.
2. Eliminating textbook costs allows students to access course materials on the first day of class so you can spend more time on instruction and less time waiting for students to acquire materials, which is a recommendation in California’s Education Code.
3. Using open educational resources (OER) oftentimes allows faculty to change, revise, and redistribute their course materials without violating copyright laws.

Start by looking for OER in your discipline and area:

• ASCCC OERI Resources by Discipline: curated lists of OER created by California Community College faculty (organized by C-ID and discipline)
• Cool4Ed: OER materials adopted by CSU and CCC faculty across the state of California.
• LibreTexts: OER textbook platform that has books, homework, courses, and other user-created materials.
• OpenStax: a large open access publisher with many GE textbooks.

Contact one of our ZTC campus leads for more information and to learn about library materials or how to find free materials in the public domain:

jyap@peralta.edu, hdodge@peralta.edu, clee@peralta.edu

Any class that has materials that add up to a total of $50 or less if purchased new from our bookstore or other retailer.

Make sure you communicate your textbook and materials costs to your department chair during the scheduling process so your class is marked with the ZTC or LTC icon. In addition, your course needs to have an XB12 indicator—which tells our scheduler how to mark your class on the back end of the online schedule. This FAQ explains more.

Librarians and instructional faculty leads are here to help. Contact one of our ZTC leads to get more information and get started converting your class. ZTC leads at BCC: Heather Dodge, Jenny Yap, and Charlotte Lee.

Many of your colleagues are already using ZTC. Just search the current schedule for ZTC-marked classes.