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Z-Course Designation

Diagram of traditional model versus Z-course model of course material costs. Traditional model shows that departments offer courses while students taking courses send course material costs to commercial publishers. Z-course model shows that departments offer courses while student taking courses send $6 to the department and $6 to create additional Z-courses.

What is a z-course?
What are zero-cost course materials?
What is the Z-Course Designation?
What is the benefit of the Z-Course Designation?
Is my course eligible for the Z-Course Designation?
How do I apply for the Z-Course Designation?
What are my responsibilities once I get the Z-Course Designation?
What support is available for transitioning my regular course to a z-course?
Who should I contact if I have questions?

What is a z-course?

A z-course is a course that requires zero cost to students for the purchase of course materials such as textbooks, course packs, subscriptions, or homework systems. Instead, z-courses use zero-cost course materials.

What are zero-cost course materials?

Zero-cost course materials are learning resources that students can access for free. Here are some common types of zero-cost course materials:

  • Open educational resources (OERs), such as open textbooks. OERs are course materials that are free and available under an open license. At a minimum, an open license allows users to make and distribute copies of the resource, activities that are not usually permitted under copyright law.
  • Free but traditionally copyrighted resources, such as professional websites
  • Existing library-licensed materials, such as e-books or articles. Please note that Forsyth Library’s collection does not include textbooks.

What is the Z-Course Designation?

The Z-Course Designation identifies courses that qualify as z-courses. Students taking z-courses pay a $12 cost-share in lieu of textbook costs, half of which goes to the department and half of which goes to FHSU’s OER program for grants, faculty development, and related costs.

What is the benefit of the Z-Course Designation?

There are two main benefits, one for students and one for departments. Z-Courses will be designated with a special tag in the Workday registration system, so that students can see which course have zero course material cost. Departments will receive $6 per student taking a Z-Course unless they choose to waive the z-course cost-share.

Is my course eligible for the Z-Course Designation?

In order for a course to be eligible for the Z-Course Designation, it must meet the following criteria:

  1. The course must use textual course materials, such as a textbook or course pack. Practica, internships, exercise classes, and other courses that do not use textual course materials are not eligible.
  2. There must be no cost to students for course materials, including online homework systems. (Materials fees for supplies for art classes and other hands-on classes are exempt—they do not disqualify courses from getting the Z-Course Designation.)

How do I apply for the Z-Course Designation?

There are two steps in applying for the Z-Course Designation:

  1. Fill out the Google Z-Course Certification Form. You will need to be logged in to your FHSU Google Account.
  2. After the Z-Course deadline for a given semester, a complete list of z-courses will be sent to the department chair for approval. As of June 2022, it is no longer necessary for the chair to fill out a separate approval form for each z-course beforehand.

What are my responsibilities once I get the Z-Course Designation?

  1. Post your course material information on the FHSU Bookstore website. It is the first place students look for information about their course materials. Your students appreciate knowing in advance what course materials they will be using and that they do not need to purchase anything. Listing your course materials on the bookstore website reduces confusion for your students and helps with HEOA compliance, tracking, and reporting. You can check the “adoptions not required” box on the “select materials” page, add course notes including course material links and file uploads, and make course materials available in print as an optional purchase using the Coursepack tool.
  2. If you ever go back to paid course materials (we hope you won’t!), notify the OER Librarian at Forsyth Library so the Z-Course Designation can be removed.

What support is available for transitioning my regular course to a z-course?

For finding zero-cost course materials, there is a list of OER repositories, search tools for free materials, and recommended library databases on Forsyth Library's OER Research Guide. If you need help with your search, contact the OER Librarian. If you need help incorporating materials into your course, contact TILT’s instructional designers.

The OER Committee also has two grant programs you may want to consider. The Open Textbook Grant provides $500-$3000 for projects to author, adapt, or add supplementary materials to an open textbook.

The Z-Course Grant provides $500-$5000 to convert large-registration courses to use zero-cost materials (regardless of whether any original authoring will be required to do so). For this grant, preference is given to courses that have more than 500 students registered per year, which means that projects are more likely to be organized on a departmental than on an individual level. Awardees commit to maintain the z-course status for at least five years after conversion to maximize return on investment.

Who should I contact if I have questions?

Please contact Claire Nickerson, Learning Initiatives & OER Librarian, at x4543 or cenickerson@fhsu.edu.