What Is ZTC?
鈥淶ero Textbook Cost鈥 means students pay $0 for all required course materials. California Assembly Bill 1887 (2022) requires community colleges to flag ZTC and low-cost (鈮$40) sections in the schedule of classes.
The PLC can help you find OER, adopt or adapt materials, confirm your course qualifies, and set everything up in Canvas 鈥 start with Tammy Boates, our Open Educational Resources Liaison. OER adoption workshops are flex-credit eligible.
$0
Student cost for required materials in a ZTC section
鈮$40
Threshold for the 鈥淟ow-Cost鈥 designation.
2026
AB 1887 reporting requirements in full effect.
How to Get Your Course Designated ZTC
OER by Metamajor
Starting points organized by Hartnell鈥檚 metamajors. These are examples, not an exhaustive list 鈥 if your course isn鈥檛 covered here, contact Tammy Boates and we鈥檒l search with you.
Biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, engineering, and the geosciences.
OpenStax Biology 2e & Concepts of Biology 鈥 Majors and non-majors introductory biology, with figures, review questions, and
test banks.
openstax.org
OpenStax Chemistry 2e & Chemistry: Atoms First 鈥 Two full general chemistry sequences with worked problems and lab-ready content.
openstax.org
OpenStax College Physics 2e & University Physics 鈥 Algebra-based and calculus-based physics, with simulation links.
openstax.org
OpenStax Mathematics Series 鈥 Elementary and Intermediate Algebra, Precalculus, Calculus 1鈥3, and Introductory
Statistics.
openstax.org
OpenStax Astronomy 2e 鈥 Full introductory astronomy text for non-majors.
openstax.org
LibreTexts 鈥 Remixable texts across Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math, and Geosciences. Hosted
at UC Davis.
libretexts.org
PhET Interactive Simulations 鈥 Free browser-based science and math simulations from CU Boulder 鈥 embeddable directly
in Canvas.
phet.colorado.edu
OpenIntro Statistics 鈥 Widely adopted open statistics text with data sets and R/Python labs.
openintro.org
Runestone Academy 鈥 Interactive open computer science texts with in-browser coding (Python, Java, C++).
runestone.academy
Psychology, sociology, history, political science, economics, and anthropology.
OpenStax Psychology 2e 鈥 Full introductory psychology text.
openstax.org
OpenStax Introduction to Sociology 3e 鈥 Introductory sociology with current U.S. examples.
openstax.org
OpenStax U.S. History & World History 鈥 Survey history texts covering the standard two-semester sequences.
openstax.org
OpenStax American Government 3e 鈥 Introductory American government and politics.
openstax.org
OpenStax Principles of Economics 3e 鈥 Also available split as Principles of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics.
openstax.org
OpenStax Introduction to Anthropology 鈥 Four-field introductory anthropology.
openstax.org
The American Yawp 鈥 Collaboratively built, peer-reviewed American history text with a companion primary-source
reader.
americanyawp.com
Noba Project 鈥 Modular psychology units you can assemble into a custom reader at no cost.
nobaproject.com
Perspectives: An Open Introduction to Cultural Anthropology 鈥 Open cultural anthropology text from the American Anthropological Association.
perspectivesanthro.org
English and composition, communication, world languages and ESL, philosophy, art, and music.
OpenStax Writing Guide with Handbook 鈥 First-year composition covering rhetorical strategies, research writing, and multimodal
texts.
openstax.org
Writing Commons 鈥 Open-access writing and rhetoric resource covering research, citation, genre, and
style.
writingcommons.org
OpenStax Introduction to Philosophy 鈥 Introductory philosophy survey.
openstax.org
Exploring Public Speaking 鈥 Open public speaking text widely used for introductory communication courses.
alg.manifoldapp.org
Understanding Media and Culture 鈥 Open mass communication and media studies text.
open.lib.umn.edu
COERLL 鈥 Open language teaching materials from UT Austin 鈥 Spanish, ESL, and other languages.
coerll.utexas.edu
Acceso 鈥 Open intermediate Spanish curriculum from the University of Kansas.
acceso.ku.edu
Smarthistory 鈥 Open art history essays and videos, organized by period and region.
smarthistory.org
Project Gutenberg & Standard Ebooks 鈥 Public domain literature in clean, accessible digital formats.
gutenberg.org 路 standardebooks.org
Nursing and allied health, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, nutrition, and kinesiology.
OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e 鈥 Comprehensive A&P with clinical correlations and interactive figures.
openstax.org
OpenStax Microbiology 鈥 Introductory microbiology aligned to allied-health programs.
openstax.org
Open RN Nursing Series 鈥 Open nursing textbooks 鈥 Nursing Fundamentals, Pharmacology, Skills, Management,
and Mental Health. Developed with a U.S. Department of Education grant.
wtcs.pressbooks.pub
Human Nutrition 鈥 Open nutrition text from the University of Hawai驶i at M膩noa.
pressbooks.oer.hawaii.edu
LibreTexts Medicine 鈥 Remixable allied-health and medical content, including A&P and pathophysiology.
med.libretexts.org
OpenStax Psychology 2e 鈥 Useful for health psychology, lifespan, and behavioral-health courses.
openstax.org
BCcampus Open Library 鈥 Reviewed open textbooks with a strong health and human services collection.
open.bccampus.ca
Agriculture and plant science, business and accounting, marketing, entrepreneurship, and the applied trades.
OpenStax Introduction to Business & Principles of Management 鈥 Two core business surveys covering management, organizational behavior, and strategy.
openstax.org
OpenStax Principles of Accounting, Volumes 1 & 2 鈥 Financial and managerial accounting, with problem sets.
openstax.org
OpenStax Principles of Marketing 鈥 Introductory marketing with current digital-marketing coverage.
openstax.org
OpenStax Entrepreneurship 鈥 Venture creation, business planning, and small-business management.
openstax.org
OpenStax Business Ethics & Business Law I Essentials 鈥 Short-format texts suited to survey and CTE courses.
openstax.org
SkillsCommons 鈥 The largest open library of career and technical education material 鈥 agriculture,
manufacturing, construction, automotive, and allied trades. Built through U.S. Department
of Labor grants.
skillscommons.org
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources 鈥 Research-based California agriculture publications, many free to use 鈥 directly
relevant to Salinas Valley crops and production.
ucanr.edu
USDA National Agricultural Library 鈥 Public-domain agricultural data, images, and educational material.
nal.usda.gov
BCcampus & eCampusOntario Open Libraries 鈥 Reviewed open texts across business, trades, and applied programs.
open.bccampus.ca 路 openlibrary.ecampusontario.ca
How to Adopt or Adapt an OER
Statewide & Campus Support
You are not doing this alone. California funds a statewide OER infrastructure, and Hartnell鈥檚 library is part of it.
Contact Us to Book a Consultation