On September 6, 2019, Skyline College’s Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL) presented to the CCC’s Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Degree Summit results of a grant-funded project to make the A.S. in Respiratory Care a fully Zero Textbook Cost degree program. Ame Maloney, Faculty Services Librarian, and Bianca Rowden-Quince, Instructional Designer, provided quantitative and qualitative measures to illustrate the impact the 22 ZTC courses associated with the A.S. in Respiratory Care have had on Skyline College students.
The courses developed under this grant include seven prerequisite courses and 15 core courses in the Respiratory Care Program. Having launched the ZTC-enabled program in 2018, three-year projections estimate that 223 sections will be offered because of this project, impacting nearly 5,500 students and saving these students more than $1.35M dollars.
ZTC has been successful at Skyline College, according to Maloney and Rowden-Quince, because of the synergy of our community working together to support resource development, resource adoption, and amplification of the pedagogical benefits of teaching and learning through open education resources. This strength was echoed by a student who, upon completing some of the Respiratory Care coursework, stated, “ZTC is an amazing system just based upon accessibility and reduced cost. College is already so expensive and the cost of some textbooks, especially ones used in science, is outrageous. I really like ZTC and feel it’s just a matter of getting used to the format.”
There are ample opportunities for Skyline College faculty to get engaged with ZTC and create, edit and apply open education resources in their courses. The ZTC Task Force is accepting 2019-2020 academic year applications for support in transitioning courses to a zero textbook cost model. The first-round of applications are due September 27, 2019.
For more information, email skylineztc@smccd.edu or visit the ZTC website at skylinecollege.edu/ztc.
Article and Photo by Rolin Moe
