Since spring 2017, CUNY has been allocated $4 million per academic year from New York State to establish, sustain, and enhance new and ongoing open educational resources (OER) and zero textbook cost (ZTC) initiatives throughout CUNY. The goal is large-scale course redesign throughout the university.
This initiative seeks to engage faculty in redesigning courses by replacing commercial textbooks with OER and other no-cost materials available online and through the Library. The short-term goal is to eliminate course material costs for students, when possible, and accelerate their progress through college, but an important secondary impact is to change the culture to create systems and structures that better connect curriculum and pedagogy with students.
CUNY’s Office of Academic Affairs through the Office of Library Services coordinates the distribution of funds and issues RFPs for specific initiatives. Of particular interest are proposals that target high enrollment general education classes or “Z” degrees (entire Zero Textbook Cost degree pathways).
See the CUNY Office of Library Services for more information on this initiative.
