ZTC Implementation Grant Funding Opportunities

This project (full project brief) is designed for faculty to conduct an in-depth search for resources available and/or needed for an existing IVC course currently lacking any ZTC sections, with the goal of ultimately providing more ZTC sections for our students, particularly for transfer-level General Education courses.  

DELIVERABLES:  

• A comprehensive overview of the current resources available to meet the requirements of the Course Outline of Record (COR) and an assessment of their quality/usability 

• An analysis of the gaps between existing and needed materials 

• A reflection on the faculty member’s experience in finding and analyzing materials and preparing the report 

• A share-out to the department of the findings, followed by discussion  

• A completed report document to be housed at IVC’s OER website 

TERMS:  

• Faculty member will submit an online application with information about the proposed course, current enrollment and textbook information, the faculty member’s background, and confirmation of Chair/supervisor support 

• Applications will be reviewed, in the order received, by the OER Committee and approved based on course demand, impact on transfer pathways, and potential student savings. Final approval will be granted at the discretion of the Vice President of Academic Services 

• Compensation of $1000 will be processed upon successful presentation of the completed report 

SAMPLE PROJECTS:

• Examples of completed needs assessments at Mt. Sac (click on individual documents to access)

This project (full project brief) is designed to compensate faculty for the work of converting their courses to ZTC, ranging from light modification of existing texts and the creation or adjustment of supporting materials to the creation of entirely new OER. Compensation for this work will be approved based on the scope of the work required: 

• Level 1 ($350-500): Adoption of excellent, existing OER, involving minimal but necessary modifications (PPTs, quizzes, Canvas, etc.)
• Level 2 ($500-1000): Adoption of existing OERs that lack a straight-across match for content and require more significant overhauling of schedule, Canvas, assignments, etc.
• Level 3 ($1,000-5,000): Adoption of OER that require significant remixing/curation/repackaging of multiple OERs, as well as some generation of original content
• Level 4 ($5,000-15,000 per team): Writing and adopting a new OER that doesn’t currently exist, including assembling a team and developing a plan of work and individual member responsibilities, committing to accessibility and departmental usage, etc. 

 

DELIVERABLES:  

• Conversion from a non-ZTC course to ZTC, using high-quality, peer-reviewed (Level 3 and 4), OER materials
• Confirmation that adopted materials meet quality and accessibility standards
• Permission to share information about materials in IVC’s OER usage database 

 

TERMS OF PROJECT:  

• Faculty member will submit an online application, indicating proposed scope of work; requested funding level and amount; information about the course, current enrollment and textbook information; the faculty member’s background; and confirmation of Chair/supervisor support
• Applications will be reviewed, in the order received, by the OER Committee and approved based on appropriateness of the scope and compensation requested, course demand, impact on transfer pathways, and potential student savings. Final approval and funding amount will be granted at the discretion of the Vice President of Academic Services
• If in the course of working on the project, its scope needs to be modified (increased or decreased), faculty member/team may return to the OERC for modified project funding
• Compensation will be processed upon successful project completion 

 

EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE PROJECTS:

In-Depth Needs Assessments

• Switching from a publisher textbook to an OpenStax textbook with essentially identical content. Some slides, quiz questions, and Canvas pages need to be modified. Amount requested: $500 (Level 1)
• Switching from a publisher textbook to an OER that is very strong, but has a different organization and/or lacks some material that must be curated from other sources
  
  • Instructor must bring in one or two chapters from another source and integrate them into Canvas, teaching materials, etc. Amount requested: $650 (Level 2)
  • Instructor must more substantially overhaul schedule, Canvas, and teaching materials to align with new and/or newly-curated OER. Amount requested: $900 (Level 2)
• With no straight-across textbook-replacement OERs available, an instructor builds one from multiple sources and/or generates some original content
  
  • New resource is remixed in LibreTexts from multiple existing OERs, requiring formatting and light editing of content and limited original writing. Amount requested: $1000 (Level 3)
    
  • Two strong OERs are available, but require careful curation and editing, plus generation of two new chapters to complete a full textbook replacement. Amount requested: $1500 (Level 3)
    
  • Faculty member is working with colleagues in another California Community College to create or adapt a textbook replacement that they will all adopt, and is responsible for writing two original chapters and generating ancillary materials. Amount requested: $1300 (Level 3)
• An IVC department all use the same textbook for one of their core courses. Together, they decide to pool their resources to curate a shared ZTC replacement that doesn't currently exist and that all will use in their sections going forward. Three faculty members each agree to write or curate three original chapters a piece, two more generate a test bank and slides, and two serve as editors of the final product. The project lead develops a plan of action and detailed schedule and oversees the work, as well as serving as one of the writers. The lead receives $3000, the other two chapter authors $2000 each, the ancillary materials creators $1500 each, and the editors $1000 each. Amount requested: $12,000.  (Level 4)

WHEN

The deadline for the second round of funding applications is November 1, 2024. Applications for OER Adoption/Development projects may be submitted thereafter, but may not receive the same priority of consideration.

• Needs Assessments projects must be completed by January 26, 2025 so that the results can be shared
• OER Adoption/Development projects must be completed by the individual deadline proposed by the faculty member and approved by the OERC
• Funding will be processed as soon as the project is completed
• Course sections of funded projects must be marked as ZTC in IVC's online schedule by no later than Fall 2026

 

HOW to apply

Before completing the online application below, make sure you have completed or will have completed the prerequisite coursework and can provide/confirm the following:

• Course information (enrollment data, transfer potential, current textbook and cost)
• Level of project and amount of funding requested
• Brief narrative describing project and detailed timeline
• Division of labor and itemized budget (for Curation/Creation grants that involve a team)
• Your familiarity with/training in OER, interest in the current project, and experience with equity and innovation in the classroom (Needs Assessment)
• Department/Chair support

Preview the application in document format. View the assessment rubric for OER Adoption/Development projects [PDF] and for Needs Assessment projects [PDF]. View the recording and slides of Cerise's PD presentation.