Ann Fiddler, Andrew McKinney, and Laura Murray form various institutions in the CUNY system discussed the challenges and opportunities for designating their Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) courses in their course catalog.
The presenters began by showing a nice little video about Zero Textbook Cost courses. As reflected in the video, students can filter their potential course list by an attribute entered in the student information system.
With an attribute set, administrators are able to pull out all OER or ZTC courses separately for the course catalog or other reports. With an attribute, the institution can also determine success factors based on course or faculty.
To ease the process, when faculty fill out the forms for textbooks, they can indicate that the course is ZTC.
CUNY is working on a marketing campaign to promote the video to increase awareness of the ZTC initiative. Here is a web page that highlights ZTC courses. They are working with advisors to help generate awareness of the cost savings opportunities.
There were definitely some lessons to take to heart as we advance out OER program. We need to do a better job getting the word out.
Additional Reading
- #SUNYCIT: A Framework for Open Educational Resources across SUNY: Report of the FACT2 OER Task Group
Stan is Director of Technology-Enhanced Instruction. He has over 20 years experience working as an instructional technologist and trainer. He has a master’s degree in computing technology in education and a doctorate in education specializing in instructional technology.
