Whereas, California Education Code §78052 requires that districts “Develop degrees with consideration for sustainability after grant funding is exhausted, including how content is updated and presented” and that the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office ensure that “a grant does not result in the development or implementation of duplicate degrees for a subject matter to avoid duplication of effort and ensure the development and implementation of the greatest number of degrees for the benefit of the greatest number of students,” a requirement that can only be met for the Zero-Textbook-Cost Degree Program if the implementation of the program is truly statewide and collaborative;
Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) recognizes that open educational resources are “the preferred and most sustainable mechanism for eliminating course costs” (Resolution 03.05 F21);
Whereas, The ASCCC has requested that the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, as part of the Zero-Textbook-Cost Degree Program, explore the provision of centralized accessibility and licensing support to local colleges and districts to facilitate the adaptation and adoption of open educational resources (Resolution 07.01 F21), effectively advocating for a statewide solution to address local zero-textbook-cost implementation challenges; and
Whereas, The ASCCC has established mechanisms for convening discipline faculty for the purposes of making curriculum determinations, including systems for ensuring statewide vetting of developed resources;
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, as part of the Zero-Textbook-Cost Degree Program, to establish the funding and process necessary to ensure that ZTC resources will remain current and relevant beyond the 2027 reporting deadline established in California Education Code §78052.
MSC