Faculty Support

Faculty interested in OER and/or ZTC course materials are encouraged to first discuss their interest with colleagues. You may discover that someone in your department is already using OER and/or has at least investigated some options. OER users are sharers! If you haven't already done so, check the disciplinary OER/ZTC page on this site to see if your department has any information there; even if you don't find anything, check with a colleague or the department chair. You may also want to check with a librarian to learn about ZTC materials for your discipline (see below for more info on this).

Faculty who are just starting their OER search are at the right place! Use the links in the menu at left to find some great resources to begin. If you would like further guidance, contact Jim Julius, Faculty Coordinator of Online Education, and/or Stephanie Kelley, OER/ZTC Instructional Designer. Note that the Academic Senate of MiraCosta College passed a resolution in support of Open Educational Resources in 2016 and a clarification of ZTC and new designation for Low Textbook Cost (LTC) classes in 2018.

Funding to Support Work to Adopt OER

MiraCosta has received well over $2 million in state grant funds to support OER and ZTC work. Contact Jim Julius, Faculty Coordinator of Online Education, to learn more about options for support.

MiraCosta Library Resources for ZTC Materials

The MiraCosta library provides access to a wide range of digital resources, including academic journals comparable to those at many universities. Resources can be linked directly into Canvas, giving students seamless access without added cost. Below are some good starting points:

Recommended eBook Collections to Support ZTC - Explore ZTC friendly library eBook collections for possible use in your courses
Use Library Content for Your Course - Find step-by-step instructions and video walkthroughs for linking library content into your Canvas course
Research Guides - Explore subject and course specific guides to library resources, useful as a starting point for research or for identifying materials in your field.
Journals by Title: OneSearch (ExLibris) - Search for journals, magazines, and newspapers by title, or browse by subject area, then link into the title within library databases.

Resources from MiraCosta Workshops

August 2025: Tools and Tips for Accessible Open Educational Resources (58 minutes) – by Nadia Khan and Stephanie Kelley
January 2025: Developing Zero Textbook Cost Courses and Programs (58 minutes) – by Jim Julius, Stephanie Kelley, Thao Ha, Steve Isachsen, Taya Lazootin, & Nery Chapetón-Lamas
March 2024: MiraCosta hosted a NCHEA ZTC Transfer Pathways mini-conference. See student panel moderated by Leslie Kennedy, CSU Office of the Chancellor (55 minutes).
January 2023: Developing ZTC Courses & Programs (View Slides – Not Recorded) – workshop by Jim Julius, Lauren McFall, & Sean Davis
August 2022: Flex workshop: Zero Cost, Big Impact: Faculty Perspectives on Moving to Zero Textbook Cost Classes (1 hour 33 minutes) by Lauren McFall, Daniel Ante-Contreras, Billy Gunn, Jeanine Sepulveda, Andrea Petri, Pilar Hernandez, Sean Davis, Jim Julius, Nadia Khan
April 2021: Flex workshop: How Open Educational Resources are Impacting Equity at MiraCosta (Zoom Recording, 1 hour 3 minutes) by Lauren McFall, Joseph King, Thao Ha, Claudia Flores, & Jim Julius. See also the workshop resources document.
Open Education Lunch Extravaganza 1/17/18 – Keynote by Nicole Finkbeiner of Open Stax (video, 35 min.) | Student Panel on OER (video, 25 min.) | Faculty Panel on OER (video, 33 min.)