In late March of 2022, a letter was sent to the Board of Governors by the Michelson 20MM Foundation on behalf of OER advocates to offer suggestions regarding the program. The following is from the letter that was submitted as a public comment:
"The $115 million Governor Newsom dedicated to ZTC degree programs has the potential to transform the system’s course material landscape. With this funding, California stands to cement itself as a bold, national leader in textbook affordability. Such leadership comes with the responsibility to ensure that these funds are used with long-term impact top of mind, and with an understanding that how this investment is shepherded will be closely studied and will impact countless state and federal textbook affordability initiatives in the coming years."
Using the Acceleration Grant, LAMC has identified four degree and certificate pathways to convert to ZTC. These include Early Childhood Education, Culinary Arts, Business, and a partnership between Physics and Chemistry. We chose these Pathways due to their closeness to completion, costs, and faculty's interest in ZTC.
The ZTC section offerings at LAMC hover around 33%. With the acceptance of our four Pathways and their surrounding GEs, we hope to have more than 60% of our course offerings flagged as ZTC by the Fall of 2026. Sixty percent is a lofty goal; however, using the Acceleration Grant, we can accomplish this objective and save our students thousands of dollars.
LAMC is also on another journey that will intersect with this grant. We are making LAMC as accessible as possible to our students. Our ADA efforts include all materials students can access, including course readings and the website. LAMC will use a portion of this grant to ensure all ZTC materials are accessible. Established OERs will be prioritized for use, especially those coming from reputable sources like OpenStax and LibreText. The focus on accessibility makes all four of our applications unique. All ZTC Pathways established with this grant will have materials that are not only free, open, and easy to access but also accessible.
Mission stands on the pinnacle. The procedures, skills, and interests are set for successful OER use and ZTC flagging. To start climbing our next mountain, we need funding. With this funding, we can offer our students the opportunity to have an education free of textbook costs and a bright and prosperous future.
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