OPEN FL: Statewide Icon- Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC)

This collaboratively authored guide helps institutions navigate the uncharted waters of tagging course material as open educational resources (OER) or under a low-cost threshold by summarizing relevant state legislation, providing tips for working with stakeholders, and analyzing technological and process considerations. The first half of the book provides high-level analysis of the technology, legislation, and cultural change needed to operationalize course markings. The second half features case studies by Alexis Clifton, Rebel Cummings-Sauls, Michael Daly, Juville Dario-Becker, Tony DeFranco, Cindy Domaika, Ann Fiddler, Andrea Gillaspy Steinhilper, Rajiv Jhangiani, Brian Lindshield, Andrew McKinney, Nathan Smith, and Heather White.
"Enabling student agency is an important step in increasing the potential for students to succeed in their academic and professional careers."

If you are new or just getting started on adding textbook cost indicators at your institution this resource is available to provide information and guidance on this process. Included you will find general information about textbook cost indicators, examples from states across the nation, and best practices identified for implementation. There are multiple ways to successfully implement textbook cost indicators and you are encouraged to develop a process within existing workflows whenever possible.

Florida’s Zero Textbook Cost Course Indicator Overview
Through Florida Statute (§)1006.73 (2)(c), Florida Virtual Campus (FLVC) is required to "Promote and provide recommendations concerning the use and distribution of open-access textbooks and education resources as a method for reducing costs and work with public postsecondary education institutions in developing a standardized process for the review and approval of open-access textbooks and education resources."

Florida is a recognized leader among the nation on identifying and highlighting the textbook affordability crisis for students. Building on previous FLVC textbook affordability efforts, a 2021 workgroup was convened with representatives from Florida’s colleges and universities to brainstorm, define and provide best recommendations to implement textbook cost indicator(s) in the FloridaShines Course Catalog. The textbook cost indicator(s) may be used across the state by the institutions who desire to highlight their efforts with reducing the cost of learning materials for their students. Working together this group was given the charge to:

Identify indicator(s) and definition(s) to be used in the Course Catalog, to highlight affordable course options in the state of Florida.
Make recommendations on the classification, use and design of these indicators.
Collect best practices for local implementation and catalog upload processes for peer institutions.
The incorporation of textbook cost indicator(s) will build off the current FLVC infrastructure, OPEN FL community, and the FloridaShines Catalog. Statewide indicator(s) provide students and institutions a way to easily highlight and discover online courses with affordable textbook costs. Being the first statewide system to include textbook costs indicator(s) for colleges and universities in the same catalog will continue to push FLVC as a leader for the nation and will give an advantage to Sunshine State students, and online students across the nation, through easy to access, affordable textbook costs course options throughout Florida.

Florida’s Zero Textbook Cost Course Indicator Definition
A Zero Textbook Cost icon may be placed with any course section requiring course materials at no cost to students.

Required course materials associated with the section must be zero cost for student access, including ancillaries, homework, quizzes, etc.
These resources must be freely accessible to the students without barriers. Placement within the registered student LMS is permitted provided the student has no additional costs for course section materials for the entire semester.
Students have access to materials on the first day of class and through course completion. It is preferable that students have a way to retain these educational resources for continued learning and reference (at minimal through degree completion or separation from the institution).
The format of materials may be either print, digital, or both.
Students may have the option for print-on-demand for digital materials, if a no-cost option is available to all students.
Courses where students are required to print materials would NOT qualify.
May include open educational resources, faculty developed content, institution developed content, institutionally retained or licensed campus library materials that all students enrolled in the course have simultaneous access to use, public domain, Creative Commons licensed, or any other properly licensed and adopted materials.
Optional resources may be for cost but must not be necessary for student success in the course.
Other required supplies (e.g. scantrons, scientific calculators, lab materials, etc.) are not considered a textbook cost, so if a course section meets the parameters noted above but has a materials fee, the section may still be considered ZTC.
Fees to access an online platform to do coursework or homework are considered a textbook cost, and therefore the course section would NOT qualify.