Zero-Textbook-Cost/OER Movement
picks up steam with $115m state grant West Hills College Lemoore among leaders; CVHEC plans regional task force
The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) is creating a regional task force to support its member institutions interested in reducing the overall cost of education for students and decreasing the time to complete degree and certificate programs by using alternative instructional materials and methodologies, including open educational resources (OER).
One of the first goals of the task force will be to support members in applying for new state funding for the California Community Colleges to establish Zero-Textbook-Cost programs systemwide, said Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director.
With CVHEC member West Hills College Lemoore -- a leader in the CCC program, and its
President James Preston, Durán sent out a call to members in late August to recommend appointments for the Central Valley Zero-Textbook-Cost Task Force. “This task force will bring attention to how districts can access the $115 million available to community colleges to implement the program and benefit their students,” Duran said.
“We hope the task force will help create a collaborative environment to support each other in providing zero cost textbooks to our students.” He anticipates the task force will be empaneled by early October with its first meeting shortly after to ensure members are aware of CCC’s ZTC efforts ...
Welcome to the September 2022 newsletter! By now, our member institutions are well into the fall semester.
In this edition we are happy to begin a dialogue in the Central Valley that will launch a regional Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) movement in our region to assist our students navigate the increasing costs of higher education. CVHEC, with the assistance of some of our community college leaders, will launch a Central Valley ZTC Task Force.
To learn more about ZTC, see our newsletter story and be sure to go to our What in the CV-HEC is Happening blog featuring West Hills College Lemoore President James Preston, a CVHEC board member whose college is a state leader in the OERevolution.
Please consider joining this task force and be a champion for cutting student costs on your campus!
We also update you on a couple of initiatives that have made our CVHEC member institutions leaders in the state:
• Our Program Pathways Mapper team working to create a model transfer approach that can be replicated in the rest of the state, has been invited to present at the statewide California Community College League of California conference in November.
• We are also happy to announce that a group of Central Valley dual enrollment students have been invited by Complete College America (CCA) to participate in a national focus group on the benefits of well-delivered dual enrollment opportunities. We are very proud that our students’ voice will be heard nationally.
We hope these topics and others in our newsletter will be resourceful for you and your colleagues.
We wish our member institutions -- and the students they serve -- a successful and safe fall semester. Let’s hope that we have put the pandemic behind us as we continue to be cautious and stay healthy and safe.
Let's Join the OERevolution with ZTC programs, Central Valley!
The California Community College Chancellor’s Office recently announced it is launching the Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Program and supporting the system with $115 million to do the work in what we term the “OERevolution” (Open Educational Resources).
While the details are still rolling out in series of webinars, the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium CVHEC is forming a ZTC Taskforce to review/advise how its community college district members can access these funds to implement the program.
Each college in the system will receive a $20,000 planning grant designed to help colleges develop a team and devise a plan. The remaining funds will be available for colleges to fund ZTC degrees at their college. Applications are now available.
For the past six years, you have been hearing the OER and ZTC acronyms as our state community college system has been discussing the possibilities of a world without expensive textbooks. The time is now Central Valley to lean into the OERevolution! But before I explain its ingredients, let’s start with some basic definitions ...
CCA Dual Enrollment National Focus Group Central Valley Students Featured in Campaign to Increase Access
A nation-wide communications campaign conducted by Complete College America (CCA) to recruit more Latinx students and other students of color into dual/concurrent enrollment student programs across the United States includes four Central Valley students who participated in CCA’s Dual Enrollment Student Focus Group Sept. 19 via Zoom.
The projected release of the virtual presentation is early 2023, said Dr. Brandon Protas, a strategic director for CCA.
The alliance sought the student recommendations after seeing CVHEC’s dual
enrollment awareness campaign the past year that culminated in a five-minute video, newsletter stories and student panels at two convenings earlier this year featuring several students who attend CVHEC-member schools.
The conversations were facilitated by Dr. Stepheny Hinkle Beauchamp, who CCA retained to conduct them through a race-conscious lens, Protas said. Her doctoral research is in dual enrollment rates for Latinos in Colorado.
The four students who are participating are Marissa Gutiérrez, Verónica Méndez García, Amira Maldonado And José Acosta ...
The Community College League of California Annual Convention 2022, which returns from its pandemic hiatus Nov. 17-19 in San Francisco with the theme “Our Time is Now”, will include a panel by Central Valley Higher Education Consortium representatives presenting the consortium’s historic Transfer Project and the Pathways Program Mapper.
The CVHEC panel, “Community College Transfers: The Breakthrough We've Been Waiting For!,” will present the consortium’s pilot project launched last year by UC Merced, Merced College and Bakersfield College that explores new strategies to increase transfers.
Presenting will be Stan A. Carrizosa Sr., president-emeritus of College of the Sequoias who currently serves as CVHEC southern regional coordinator; Dr. James Zimmerman, UC Merced associate vice provost; Dr. Craig Hayward, Bakersfield College dean; and Tom Burke, chancellor-emeritus of KCCCD who is now coordinator of the CVHEC Transfer Project ...
This issue’s feature for our renovated Central Valley Higher Education Consortium web site is our Transfer Project page developed by CVHEC regional coordinator Stan Carrisoza.
The Transfer Project exemplifies the effectiveness of consortium members collaborating to ensure that community college students of our nine-county region are afforded a successful transfer experience.
The web page details how in 2019, a year after UC Merced met with CVHEC and expressed grave concern for the low number of Central Valley CC transfers, the two entities launched a pilot project with CVHEC members Merced College and Bakersfield College for new strategies to increase transfers ...
Fresno State, broader community celebrate investiture of President Jiménez-Sandoval
An investiture ceremony for Fresno State’s ninth President, Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, who also serves on the CVHEC Board of Directors made up 30 valley college CEOs, was held Sept. 9 in the Save Mart Center on campus.Fellow CVHEC Board member, Dr. Lynnette Zelezny, president of CSU Bakersfield, returned to the campus where she once served as provost to deliver the keynote address. (MORE)
Two CVHEC Members Ranked in the Top 5 in the Nation, Region by US News(MORE)
CSU Bakersfield gets top rankings in Washington Monthly's 2022 College Guide (MORE)
Meet the 11 Women Presidents of the CSU Including Two CVHEC Board Members: Presidents Junn and Zelezny(MORE)
UC Merced: Merced College Unveils New Agriculture and Industrial Technology Complex (MORE)
REMINDER: 2022 CVHEC
Mini-Grant AppsAvailable Applications for the next Central Valley Higher Education Consortium 2022 Mini-Grant cycle are now being accepted and will continue until funds are allocated.
Higher Education News
Rep. Costa Proposes Bill for Millions to Colleges in Poor Areas Up to 174 public four-year universities could benefit, including Fresno State and three other California colleges: Cal State Los Angeles, San Diego State, and Cal Poly Pomona. See Fresno Bee Ed Lab (Aug.23, 2022).
CCA Report: ‘No Middle Ground: Advancing Equity Through Practice’ AComplete College America (CCA) report released this summer urges colleges to take a stronger stance on addressing the root causes of inequity in higher education, based on race, income and other factors. “No Middle Ground: Advancing Equity through Practice” draws on more than a decade of research and evidence-based practice to provide a toolkit with reform strategies that colleges can use to advance equity in higher education and improve outcomes for historically excluded students. SeeCCA press release(June 16, 2022).
Newsom’s bid to make textbooks free delayed The fundingwas approvedlast summer by California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom, just months after Newsom generated headlines when he called the textbook industry a “racket.” The money is meant to fund degree and certificate programs that will allow students to complete those programs without spending anything on textbooks. SeeEdSource(July 18, 2022).
Bringing Back Stop-Outs Four University of California campuses are joining forces to boost enrollment by recruiting former UC students who left without completing a degree, including CVHEC member UC Merced. SeeInside Higher Ed(Aug. 23, 2022). Bill to Ban Community College Remedial Classes Awaits Signature Assembly Bill 1705 would prohibit remedial classes except for very limited circumstances. SeeEdSource(Sept. 6, 2022).
can access these funds to implement the program. 
