Chapter 6: Next Steps

Nearing the Finish Line

In the previous five chapters you learned about OER and free resources, about Creative Commons licensing, copyright and proper attributions, and how to find and evaluate resources.  We also hope that you have been able to find resources that meet your needs and will help reduce or eliminate the cost of textbooks for students.

In this last chapter we have two final topics and some loose ends to tie up.

Connect with a local/national/global OER community

Open Educational Resources is a movement that has grown exponentially since its early beginnings in the 1990s. In support of this growth, in October 2019 governments attending the United Nations Scientific Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General Conference, held in Paris, adopted legal and technical standards that support the sharing of open materials across international boundaries. The 2020 Educause Horizon Report on Teaching and Learning states that Canada, Western Europe, South America, and the Middle East are leaders in this effort. OER is growing rapidly at all levels of education (2022 Educause Horizon Report.) The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education has started an OER committee to support growth in western states. Achieving the Dream is an active sponsor and supporter of OER programs. The U.S. Federal Government has supported several multi-million dollar grants for the development of OER, such as LibreTexts and OpenRN. State governments such as Washington, Oregon, California, and Texas are engaged in supporting OER at all levels.

The community is welcoming. The University of Hawaiʻi System's ten institutions comprise a consortial member of the Open Education Network and the UH Community Colleges are a consortial member of the Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER). The seven colleges, as members of CCCOER, are members of OEGlobal. Disciplines such as nursing and language education are forming OER communities that encourage collaboration to create materials.

There are many ways to connect to these communities. You can

• subscribe to a community         

• University of Hawaiʻi System OER blog
• Sign up to join the UH OER Listserv
• OpenStax (scroll to the bottom)
• Consortium of Community Colleges for OER
• Get the British Columbia Campus Newsletter by subscribing to BCCampus

• attend a future online workshop or conference         

• List of conferences

• review and view a video training or conference presentation from sites such as         

• OEN's YouTube Channel
• CCCOER's webinar series
• OEGlobal's conference YouTube Channel
• Best Practices in Fair Use webinar series

• use Twitter to follow any of these institutions and many inspiring OER leaders

Textbook Cost: $0

If you remember, we introduced and discussed Textbook Cost: $0 (TXT0) in Module 1. Then we spent a lot of time on OER. The reason for the focus on OER is that the global OER movement both encourages faculty to create and enables faculty to adopt high-quality, no-cost, openly licensed textbooks and other materials in place of expensive commercial textbooks.

However, there are many resources free to students that are not OER. UH OER advocates decided to make faculty aware of both OER and other quality materials when encouraging faculty to tackle the high cost of their textbooks. Both types of materials fall under the label "Textbook Cost: $0" or TXT0 (zero). There is no rule requiring TXT0 classes to exclusively use OER. However, for a class to be TXT0 students must not be required to purchase any course materials out-of-pocket.

Here are some no-cost non-OER materials that can be used:

• Instructor-created content. Whether or not the instructor chooses to openly license the copyright to the materials, the course can still be designated TXT0 as long as students are not required to purchase any of the content.
• Videos, e-books, journal articles, and other materials accessible by students via the campus library.
• Links to online copyrighted/restricted materials (e.g., linking/embedding a YouTube video, linking to a webpage), as this is an accepted practice by internet users.

If you are looking to create a TXT0 class, you have several options. You could adopt a single OER textbook to replace your current commercial textbook, you could choose to write your own content, you could curate and use resources free for students to use, or you could use a combination of OER and free but copyrighted resources.

The TXT0 designation gives students the ability to make informed choices that reduce their educational costs and student loans. The TXT0 label displays in Banner, in the Class Availability listing and in STAR GPS.

Frequently Asked Questions about TXT0

The following FAQs are taken and adapted from Leeward CC and Hawaii CC.

• What is a TXT0 class?         

• The TXT0 designation for a class in class listings indicates there are no costs for course materials. Course materials include textbooks, readings, or other content. A student in a TXT0 class will not be required to pay for any course materials for the class. TXT0 classes may use Open Educational Resources (OERs) only or a combination of OERs, web resources, library resources, and faculty-authored materials that replace commercially produced textbooks, online platforms, and other fee-based course materials.

• So, there is no textbook?         

• Not necessarily. It could be that:                 

• there is no required textbook for the class but course materials are no-cost and freely accessible, or
• the textbook may be an electronic book either freely accessible or available via the library.

• Is Textbook Cost: $0 the same as OER?         

• No. TXT0 is a designation for classes that do not require students to pay for course materials. Materials in TXT0 classes can be         

• entirely OER or
• can be a mix of OER with materials that are not OER but provided at no cost to students or
• can be exclusively materials that are not OER but provided at no cost to students.          

• Where does the Textbook Cost: $0 designation appear?          

• You can see a list of TXT0 courses offered at all UH campuses on the UH OER TXT0 website.
• The TXT0 designation appears for students using Star GPS under More Information
• It appears in each campus' class availability listing at UH's Class Availability website,                 

• "Textbook Cost: $0" appears at the beginning of the Comments field for each  "Textbook Cost: $0"class
• "TXT0" is listed as an attribute for each class

• This "How to Find TXT0 Courses" video is made for students and demonstrates how students can find TXT0 classes for which to register.

• Can Textbook Cost: $0 classes still require payment for Access Codes to online learning material like homework, exercises, additional reading, MyMathLab, MyWritingLab, etc.?          

• No. TXT0 designated classes must use only course materials that are freely available to students from the first day of class.

• What if students want a printed copy of an open textbook?         

• Students may choose to print out any part of or the entire OER textbook, at their cost. While this may seem to conflict with the TXT0 designation, printing is a student's choice. The OER textbook is available to all students on the first day of instruction, at no cost.

• Can a class that uses instructional non-OER materials be designated TXT0?         

• Yes. As long as there is no cost to students. Examples of non-OER (but free) materials could include copyrighted/licensed materials that are available through library subscription or via links to copyrighted materials on the internet.

• What if my course requires students to purchase equipment or supplies?         

• Equipment, tools, or supplies needed to apply the learning occurring in the class are not considered course materials.

• If a class has mandatory fees (for supplies), or an equipment list (e.g., tools for a trade program), can it still qualify for TXT0 designation if the course materials (textbooks, manuals, etc.) are all open/no cost?         

• Yes. Supply and equipment fees do not prevent classes from being listed at Textbook Cost: $0 as long as the class meets the requirements.

TXT0 Process

The process of designating a class as TXT0 is voluntary, instructor-initiated, and uncomplicated.  However, at the same time, we need to ensure the integrity of the designation, consider the workflow process, and also include some data collection functionality.

Integrity of the TXT0 Designation

First, let's consider the integrity of the designation. In terms of integrity, if a class is designated TXT0 on the class availability listing, it needs to be true. Instructors will self-certify that students will not have to purchase any course materials required for the successful completion of their class. Also, it will be the responsibility of that instructor (not the Department Chair or Dean) to ensure that their class meets the definition of Textbook Cost: $0.  If an inquiry or complaint is made about a certain class, the Department Chair and/or Dean may be asked to follow up with the instructor.

Workflow process

Workflow processes differ across campuses. View the TXT0 Designation Procedures document to find information about the designation process at your campus.

The Finish Line

• As you cross this finish line, take stock of everything you have accomplished during this course. You now have:
• An awareness of copyright guidelines to help you make decisions about using resources correctly
• A knowledge of how to find and use open resources
• A source tracker to keep track of what you find
• Knowledge of how to build a resource or course to meet your teaching goals using backward design
• A draft SMART plan for your first project
• A list of knowledgeable OER advocates who can help you with questions

We recommend that you now begin building your materials in either Google Doc or Laulima. When you are ready, reach out to your UHCC OER campus lead to discuss possible public platforms.

And donʻt forget…Recommend OER and this course to your colleagues!!

Attributions: 

• "Textbook Cost: $0 Frequently Asked Questions" by OER @ Leeward Community College is licensed under CC BY 4.0.