​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Open Education Resources (OER) & Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC)

OER logo

What is OER?

Open Educational Resources (OER) are course materials that can be used and reused freely at no cost. Unlike conventional copyrighted course material, OER material creators​ retain few, if any, ownership rights. Why is that important? The premise of OER is to provide "free and unfettered access, and perpetual, irrevocable 5R permissions" that allow instructors and students to "Retain, Resuse, Revise, Remix, and Redistribute" the course material. (Dr. David Wiley, October 2016)

Why use OER?

Open Educational Resources, or OER, can benefit students in a variety of ways. Some of the primary benefits include:

  • Significant Cost Savings - The high price of textbooks can be prohibitive to students in pursuit of their education. Many students cannot afford to buy their books. OER provides no-cost or low-cost course materials, that can make higher education accessible and affordable for everyone. OER ensures that students have access to all course material from the first of day of class.

  • Provides Access to More Quality Choices - Many top colleges and universities across the country are providing free online course options to the public. This access allows students from all walks of life the ability to enjoy high-quality courses and tutorials developed by institutions such as Open Yale Courses, JHS​PH OpenCourseWare (John Hopkins University), Webcast. Berkeley (University of California Berkeley), MIT OpenCourseWare, Open Learning Initiative (Carnegie Mellon University), and Harvard Open Courses.

  • Flexible - OER provides flexibility for all learning styles. Students have the option of electronic content, or they can print a hard copy of the material. In addition, the same material can be presented in multiple ways using print, audio, video, and interactive technology. This flexibility is a result of the ​shared nature of the content, as ​instructors or institutions do not have to pay to use each variation of the content. Instructors can also modify or customize the material to best suit the needs of their students, and embody the nature of their courses.

Zero Textbook Cost

The Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Degree program is one of the Open Educational Resources (OER) initiatives to improve teaching, learning, and accessibility for all learners at California Higher Education instit​utions. SAC is one of 20 California Community Colleges to be awarded the Implementation Phase II RFA for 2017/18. Courses designated as Zero Textbook Cost eliminate conventional textbook costs by using alternative instructional materials and methodologies, including open educational resources.

Santa Ana College Selected for Achieving the Dream OER Degree Initiative
Santa Ana College was recently selected to be part of the Achieving the Dream's Open Educational Resources (OER) Degree initiative. SAC is one of only 38 community colleges nationwide that will be working to ensure equity for students in the coming year by creating two degree pathways utilizing OER materials!