To increase Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) course adoptions and facilitate faculty exploration and innovation in finding new, better, and less costly ways to deliver quality learning materials to students, Skyline College is providing professional development support and incentive funding for faculty to convert courses currently using traditional textbooks, Inclusive Access, and other for-cost materials to ZTC materials. In addition to supporting adoption and implementation of ZTC by individual faculty, the award especially encourages scaling of ZTC implementation across all sections of high-enrollment courses in order to impact a significant number of students.

Discipline Leads Project Description 

Discipline Leads will spearhead course conversion to ZTC courses within your discipline by consensus building and curating, reviewing, revising selected or authored course materials. In addition to supporting adoption of ZTC by Discipline Faculty, the award especially encourages scaling of ZTC implementation across all sections of high-enrollment courses in order to impact a significant number of students. It is noteworthy that: 

• Discipline Leads receive a one-time award of up to $5,000 to complete ZTC coordination and conversion of 4-6 courses. 
• The initial determination regarding approval of ZTC Discipline Leads project applications shall be made by the ZTC Operational Work Group.
• All awardees must utilize materials associated with awards in teaching assignments for future course(s). 

Course Conversion Scope may include

• Adoping a single OER textbook/resource or ZTC Skyline Library eBook/eResource to replace your traditionally published for-cost textbook.
• Adapting, remixing, or curating a collection of existing OER material and/or create new supplemental OER material. This option is designed for faculty that know a bit about the available OER, open-access, and zero-textbook cost (ZTC) options in their discipline. Adapt OER results in production of new OER Material. 
• Authoring of new OER content to replace a traditional textbook. This option is designed for faculty interested in developing and creating substantially new OER course material where it is demonstrated that quality OER resources are not currently available to meet learning objectives. Author OER results in production of new OER Material.

Project activities may include

• identification and review of existing Creative Commons licensed, ZTC, and/or OER materials that would be suitable for the course under consideration, relevant to your course SLOs
• reviewing those materials to ensure they align with course outcomes and student success, and have the quality and rigor to maintain the integrity of the course; 
• working with ZTC project leads to develop a work plan to adapt materials to make them suitable for their course
• editing existing chapters
• adding new materials from other sources
• removing sections not appropriate
• bringing together several Creative Commons licensed sources, etc. 
• creating new supplemental materials to augment an adopted OER also results in new OER material. Examples of this would include creating test banks, PowerPoint presentations, videos, images, lectures, lab manuals, and other supplemental materials.
• implementing the deliverable OER material(s) in your course
• consultation with OER discipline experts regarding OER quality issues
• working with ZTC project leads to develop a work plan to create materials and make them suitable for your course
• authoring new OER material(s) to be implemented as a primary course resource in your course(s) (e.g., textbook replacement, custom reader, workbook, lab manual, & etc.) 

This may include the work involved in writing, developing, creating open textbooks and, if applicable, accompanying supplemental materials such as test banks, PowerPoint presentations, videos, images, lectures, lab manuals, and other supplemental materials. 

Proposal Evaluation Criteria 

• Expertise in the course content. 
• Project narrative and goals clearly defined. 
• Assessment plan and methodology clearly defined. 
• Timeline of Project plan and implementation. 
• Documented level of support for adoption of the new OER material(s) by the proposing Faculty member and those teaching other sections of the course. 
• Demonstration of collaboration with program chairs and Associate Deans as well as other course Faculty, and/or other available College support, in developing the proposal. 
• Commitment to complete a Faculty survey and assist in administering a student  survey of the OER material adopted. 
• Analysis of anticipated cost savings to students. 
• High-enrollment course preferred. 
• Plan for updating and keeping course material current. 
• Revision or Remix of Existing OER Material and/or Creating New Supplemental Material Intent to revise/remix process existing OER materials and supplements. Or, creation of 
• Supplemental Materials to augment existing OER Content. 
• Intention to replace a traditional textbook by authoring new OER Content. 
• Replacement of a traditional textbook with OER. After the project, the costs for the optional printed version of resulting OER materials shall not exceed $40, with a lower cost  preferred.

The award for ZTC Discipline Leads – a one-time award of up to $5,000 to complete ZTC coordination and conversion of 4-6 courses.