Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) at Allan Hancock College
Allan Hancock College is committed to making education more affordable and equitable for all students. One major step toward this goal is offering Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) courses—classes that use free learning materials instead of costly textbooks.
The average cost of textbooks, course materials, and academic fees for community college students varies from $1,400 to $1,700 per year. The cost of textbooks alone has skyrocketed by 88% over the last 10 years. When 66% of California Community College students and 64% of degree-seeking Allan Hancock College students are considered low income, it can place significant financial stress on students.
AHC students save thousands per year by eliminating textbook costs with ZTC!
What is ZTC?
A ZTC course provides all required materials to students at no cost. These materials can include Open Educational Resources (OER), library-licensed content, instructor-created materials, or other free digital resources. Students have access to these materials on the first day of class, ensuring everyone can start learning right away.
ZTC and OER courses make learning more affordable, accessible, and engaging for every student at Allan Hancock College.
For more information, visit our ZTC & OER resources for students and faculty.
What is OER?
Open Educational Resources (OER) are high-quality teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and repurposing by others. They may include other resources that are legally available and free of cost to students.
OER Materials may include:
- Textbooks
- Course readings, articles, and journals
- Course packs
- Quizzes
- Streaming videos
- Virtually any other material used for educational purposes
For Students
- Significant Savings per Academic Year
Students can save hundreds of dollars or more per semester by not having to buy expensive textbooks, lab manuals, workbooks, or other academic materials. - Increased Accessibility
Materials are made available online for free as OER (Open Educational Resources), making them accessible anytime and anywhere on day one of classes. - Academic Equity
64% of degree-seeking Allan Hancock College students are considered to be low-income. ZTC helps close equity gaps by providing all students, regardless of their financial background, with equal access to quality educational resources. - Improved Retention & Success Rates
ZTC helps improve retention and success rates, especially for low-income students. - Quality of Education
Students achieve the same or better learning outcomes when using OER, while saving significant amounts of money. (Crossfield & Ryann, 2022)
For Instructors
- Customization & Flexibility
Instructors can adapt OER materials to fit their teaching style and course objectives. Create content to meet the specific needs of their students, which can be updated more easily than traditional textbooks without relying on commercial publishers' revision schedules. - Lower Withdrawal Rates & Increased Retention Rates
Withdrawal rates for OER courses are significantly lower than for regular courses (Hilton, 2020) - Innovation
Promotes the use of interactive and multimedia resources, and supports collaborative learning and open knowledge sharing. - Quality & Sustainablility
High-quality, peer-reviewed materials that instructors can keep up-to-date with recent information. - Compensation for Creating OER
Our ZTC Team will fairly compensate instructors to take OER training and create their own OER materials. Great opportunity for both full-time and part-time faculty to make a genuinely positive impact on students while making some extra money
1. Select Term in Class Search
2. Go to “Search by Gen Ed or Attributes” and select “0 Zero Textbook Costs”:
3. You’ll see an icon with an open book and a dollar sign (shown below) indicating Zero Textbook cost in the lower right corner of the results to each course:
Disciplines & Certificate Programs that are fully ZTC as of Spring 2026:
- Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) - Certificate of Accomplishment
- Liberal Arts: Arts and Humanities - Associate of Arts (AA)
- Liberal Arts: Mathematics and Science - Associate of Arts (AA)
- Liberal Arts: Social and Behavioral Sciences - Associate of Arts (AA)
- Transfer Studies/Cal-GETC - Associate of Arts for Transfer (ADT)
- English - Associate of Arts for Transter (ADT)
- Communication Skills for Public Service Professionals- Certificate of Achievement
- Communication Skills for the Business Professional - Certificate of Achievement
- Communication Skills for the Professional Speaker - Certificate of Achievement
Disciplines & Certificate Programs to become fully ZTC by Spring 2027:
- Spanish*- Associate of Arts (AA) and Associate of Arts for Transfer (ADT)
- Communication Studies 2.0* - Associate of Arts for Transfer (ADT)
- Early Childhood Education (ECS)* - Associate of Science for Transfer (ADT)
- Administration of Justice (AJ) - Associate in Science for Transfer (ADT)
- Agricultural Business - Associate of Science for Transfer (ADT)
- Agricultural Pest Control Adviser Preparation (1 of 2): Crop Protection - Certificate of Achievement
- Agricultural Pest Control Adviser Preparation (2 of 2): Production Systems - Certificate of Achievement
- Agricultural Plant Science - Associate of Science for Transfer (ADT)
*The Spanish, Communication Studies 2.0, and Early Childhood Studies (ECS) pathways are the closest to becoming full ZTC as of Spring 2026.
susie.kopecky@hancockcollege.edu
Liz West, ZTC Faculty Coordinator
lwest@hancockcollege.edu
Email for general questions and information on ZTC/OER (James Coon, ZTC Grant Coordinator)
ahc.ztcoer@hancockcollege.edu
