$1000-$5000 Stipend Per Course to Eliminate Student Textbook Costs
Co-created by Faculty Reference Librarians Joey Merritt and Lindsay Davis and initially funded with a $20,000 Innovation grant in 2022, the Zero Textbook Cost/Open Educational Resources (ZTC/OER) Faculty Incentive Program offers a pathway to improve textbook affordability at Merced College. This program provides training in Canvas, support, and stipends ranging from $1000-$5000 to help part-time and full-time MCCD faculty replace required course reading materials, including commercial textbook, lab manuals, and courseware, that students must purchase / rent with materials that are zero cost for students. ZTC materials include OER, library-licensed eBooks, Open Access materials, and materials in the Public Domain.
- The application period is open Thursday, August 21, 2025 through Thursday, October 2, 2025 at 5 PM.
- Acceptance/denial notifications will be sent on a rolling basis.
- Part-time and full-time faculty are eligible.
- Faculty may apply for more than one course but will need to fill out separate applications for each.
- Courses part of at least one of the following transfer degree pathways are eligible:
- Administration of Justice
- Agriculture Business
- Business Administration 2.0
- Early Childhood Education
- Elementary Teacher Education
- English
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Training in Canvas will take place Monday, October 13 through Monday, November 17, 2025.
- Participants who have previously taken the training will not complete the 5 learning modules again but will need to submit updated syllabi and any accompanying materials depending on stipend level.
