College of the Canyons has been awarded $600,000 from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office in support of Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) acceleration and Open Educational Resources (OER) materials that can be used and repurposed by other California community colleges.

The three $200,000 grants will allow the college to create ZTC and OER pathways for certificate programs in the fields of land surveying, water systems technology and sustainable design and development.

“We are so excited to have received this grant from the Chancellor’s Office,” said Joy Shoemate, director of online education and distance learning at the college. “This means students will be able to complete these programs without paying for textbooks, which alleviates the financial burden so many students experience while completing their studies.”

The funding will allow COC instructors to create OER textbooks and redesign online courses with the support of an instructional designer.

In addition, faculty members will update course and textbook content for relevance and currency as part of their regular duties.

COC is committed to supporting the effort of faculty through the Online Education department that engages in OER search, formatting for accessibility, and course redesign assistance.

For more information about the college’s OER and ZTC efforts, please click [here].