LibGuides: Getting Textbooks to Zero Student Cost: ZTC and OER: Professional Development

Survey Invitation

National Open Education Needs Assessment: Submit by April 4, 2025
Take the U.S. National Open Education Needs Assessment Survey, which will help shape the priorities of a new national initiative, the Open Education Association Development Project (opened.org). The survey takes around 10 minutes and is open until April 4, 2025.

ASCCC OERI April Webinars and May Regional Meetings

Every month, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges Open Educational Resources Initiative (ASCCC OERI) shares a newsletter to all of the college OER liaisons with webinars, office hours for disciplines, and other information.
Some of the webinars and information is discipline-specific, while others are more general.
- Faculty librarian Lindsay Davis, the ASCCC OERI liaison for MCCD, shares the general webinars with all of the full-time and part-time faculty.
- Lindsay sends discipline-specific information directly to faculty who teach in the discipline or to the designated faculty lead for larger departments
All webinars are recorded and archived on the ASSCC OERI website.

General April Webinars

REGISTER: Ensuring Student Access to Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Pathways: Friday, April 4, 2025 10:30–11:30 AM Pacific
California’s investment in the ZTC Degree Program is intended to not merely increase the availability of ZTC course sections, but also to “ensure the development and implementation of the greatest number of degrees for the benefit of the greatest number of students” (California Education Code Section 78052). How do you maximize the number of students who truly complete a ZTC program? What’s the minimum every college should be doing? Join us to consider approaches to achieving this goal – both aspirational and practical.
REGISTER: LibreTexts’ ADAPT Homework Platform and the new Discuss-It: Wednesday, April 16, 2025 from 3–4 PM Pacific
Discover how ADAPT, the LibreTexts homework platform, empowers instructors to create interactive, engaging, and customizable open educational resources assessments. This powerful tool supports student learning with auto-graded assignments, a repository of more than 225,000 questions, and seamless LTI/API integration with Canvas. In this webinar, we’ll also introduce Discuss-It, an innovative tool within ADAPT that fosters asynchronous student interaction through text, audio, and video discussions. Learn how these free tools can enhance student engagement, streamline course management, and create a more inclusive and collaborative online learning environment.
REGISTER: Approaches to Integrating No-Cost Marking and XB12 (Instructional-Material-Cost) Coding into the Textbook Adoption Process Friday, April 18, 2025 10:30 am–11:30 AM Pacific
In January of 2018, the requirement that California community colleges mark their no-cost course sections went into effect [Senate Bill 1359 (Block, 2016)]. In the summer of 2022, all colleges were to have implemented the initial iteration of XB12, a section level data element that was intended to identify course sections that achieved no-cost by using Open Educational Resources (OER). Effective summer 2024, XB12 was modified to more effectively capture course costs and to identify how a section became no-cost. Unfortunately, most colleges have not designated a person(s) responsible for ensuring the effective implementation of no-cost marking and XB12 coding. Further, obtaining the information for both often require faculty to provide the data in addition to reporting standard textbook adoption information. Can a process be created to ensure that accurate course material information is available to students at the time of registration and all required coding and marking happen in a streamlined fashion? Join us for a discussion of the challenges and an array of approaches to inform your integrated – or more integrated – approach to the collection of these data.

May Regional Meetings

There is a meeting for the north, and one for the south; the content is the same.
Attendees of these in-person events will be introduced to – and actively interact with – LibreTexts, the LibreTexts Remixer, and the ADAPT Open Homework System.
The registration cost is $25.
A light breakfast will be served and lunch will be provided.

IN-PERSON AND $25: ASCCC OERI Regional Meeting at De Anza College – Introduction to Remixing and Open Homework Systems: May 16, 2025
The OERI, in collaboration with De Anza College and East Los Angeles College is pleased to announce regional professional development opportunities for those who intend to remix open educational resources in the LibreTexts platform and create openly-licensed assessments. Those who support this work are also invited to attend. Attendees of these in-person events will be introduced to – and actively interact with – LibreTexts, the LibreTexts Remixer, and the ADAPT Open Homework System.
IN-PERSON AND $25: ASCCC OERI Regional Meeting at East Los Angeles College – Introduction to Remixing and Open Homework Systems: May 17, 2025
The OERI, in collaboration with De Anza College and East Los Angeles College is pleased to announce regional professional development opportunities for those who intend to remix open educational resources in the LibreTexts platform and create openly-licensed assessments. Those who support this work are also invited to attend. Attendees of these in-person events will be introduced to – and actively interact with – LibreTexts, the LibreTexts Remixer, and the ADAPT Open Homework System.

Other Conferences and Webinars

RECORDINGS: OpenEd24
The Open Education Conference is thrilled to announce the public release of the #OpenEd24 video recordings! Be sure to check out the presentations and celebrate the great work of the remarkable open education community.
VIRTUAL AND FREE: All Things Open Week: April 7-10, 2025 1 PM ET Each Day
Are you looking for a FREE virtual conference to learn more about the exciting world of open scholarship? Look no further than KSU's third annual All Things Open Week, co-hosted by Texas Tech University Libraries! Learn more about the Open Movements, including:

Open access publishing
Open data
Open educational resources
Open pedagogy
Open science
Open-source software
Open licensing and fair use
And other efforts to increase access and equity!

VIRTUAL AND FREE: University of Regina Open Education Bootcamp 2025 Keynote Speakers: May 13-16, 2025 11 AM (Saskatchewan/CST)
Register for each online session; be mindful that the university offers other workshops through this registration platform.
VIRTUAL AND FREE: Florida OER Summit 2025: May 21-22, 2025
The Florida OER Summit 2025 invites you to engage and connect with other OER enthusiasts from May 21-22 in a free virtual conference. Hear from practitioners in Florida, the nation, and around the world on a variety of topics.
VIRTUAL AND FREE: OpenCon Ohio 2025: May 22, 2025
Our free virtual OpenCon Ohio 2025 conference will take place on Thursday, May 22. During the preceding week, there will be asynchronous lightning talk viewing and discussion on Discord. Thursday, May 22 will be live, with a keynote presentation, a plenary session about centering care in our community, a panel discussion of faculty open education projects, and more. The registration deadline is May 15, 2025.

Calls for Participants

VIRTUAL AND $700: Supplemental Materials Development Certificate: June 2025 Cohort
The Rebus Foundation has developed a six-week Supplemental Materials Development Certificate course where you can explore, co-create, and implement supplemental materials rooted in learning science while reconnecting with the joy of teaching and learning!
VIRTUAL AND FREE/ALSO TIERED PRICING: The LibreTexts Academy: A Center for Open Instructional Innovation and Professional Development Cohorts for Faculty Authors
The Academy aims to help instructors gain experience and expertise using the LibreTexts greater LibreVerse of technologies and resources to create, adapt, and remix high quality OER for their courses.

Calls for Papers and Proposals

2025 Open Education Conference (#OpenEd25): Submit by April 4, 2025 11:59 PM PT
There is just over a week left to submit session proposals to the 2025 Open Education Conference (#OpenEd25), which will be held as a hybrid event on October 28-30 in Denver, CO and online. Proposals are accepted for virtual, hybrid, and in person sessions and must be submitted by Friday, April 4, 2025 at 11:59 pm PT.
The Open Pedagogy Cookbook: Submit by May 2, 2025
You are invited to submit chapter proposals for The Open Pedagogy Cookbook, an edited Creative Commons volume to be published by the Association of College and Research Libraries. This publication will contain lesson plans, resources, and inspiration from librarians who have successfully implemented open pedagogy at their institutions. Proposals are due on May 2, 2025
Journal of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education (JOERHE): Submit by April 30, 2025
The Journal of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education (JOERHE) invites you to submit original quantitative and qualitative innovative practice articles and case studies concerning Open Pedagogy, Open Data, and analyses of current topics in Open Educational Resources within the context of Higher Education in the United States and Canada. Initial review of submissions will begin on March 31, 2025. The submission portal closes on April 30, 2025.

Reads of Interest

Open Resources, Open Futures – How Faculty Can Help Reduce the Cost of Textbooks
Key to student success is access to course materials – textbooks in particular – but the rising costs make it difficult for some Georgia State students to afford them. Provost Nicolle Parsons-Pollard has urged faculty to find ways to reduce textbook costs, and the university continues to make progress: more than 60 percent of undergraduate courses at GSU now use low- or no-cost textbooks.
JMU Textbook Initiative Leads to Student Savings and College Affordability
In 2023, JMU formed a task force to address rising textbook costs by promoting the use of Open Educational Resources (OER). The team of representatives from across the university—JMU Libraries, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Office of the Vice President, Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DDEI), and Faculty Senate—worked together with a shared goal: to expand the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) to create a more affordable and equitable educational experience at JMU.
Oregon State faculty’s use of free textbooks generates millions in student savings
Since 2019, Oregon State students have saved more than $20 million on textbooks. In the 2024 academic year, 41% of all OSU course sections required materials be low-cost or free. Students appreciate faculty’s acknowledgement of their financial needs through the use of these resources. Faculty and students alike also appreciate that open educational resources democratize knowledge and allow all students to come to class prepared regardless of their financial situation.
Little Black Dress and OER: Sticking with the Classics Doesn’t Go Out of Fashion
Michelson 20MM Foundation
US Funding Cuts Imperil Open Infrastructure Globally
Katina Librarianship Elevated
Bringing AI and OER together
21st Century Blog
“Wait, not like that”: Free and open access in the age of generative AI
The real threat isn’t AI using open knowledge — it’s AI companies killing the projects that make knowledge free
Charting the Course: Case Studies in OER Sustainability
We explore the attributes of successful initiatives, challenges to maintaining and scaling these initiatives, and how broader assessment efforts of the impact of OERs on teaching, learning, and student success would strengthen their value proposition.

Organizations to Follow

ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative
"The mission of the ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI) is to reduce the cost of educational resources for students by expanding the availability and adoption of high-quality Open Educational Resources (OER). OERI facilitates and coordinates the curation and development of OER texts, ancillaries, and support systems."
Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER)
"The Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER) promotes the awareness and adoption of open educational policies, practices, and resources...CCCOER is part of Open Education Global."
Creative Commons
"Creative Commons is an international nonprofit organization that empowers people to grow and sustain the thriving commons of shared knowledge and culture we need to address the world's most pressing challenges and create a brighter future for all."
SPARC
"SPARC is a non-profit advocacy organization that supports open systems for research and education that enable everyone, everywhere to access, contribute to, and benefit from the knowledge that shapes our world."
Open Education Association Development Project
"The Open Education Association Development Project is a national initiative working to strengthen the open education field in the United States through collaborative action and strategic coordination. Guided by community input, the project will identify shared needs, build connections across existing efforts, and expand support for open education’s collective impact."