There is a districtwide movement to reduce textbook costs by adopting open educational resources (OER), and many of ARC’s course sections now have zero textbook costs (ZTC). The Faculty ZTC eForm is one process ARC uses to assign the ZTC symbol in the schedule of classes. Also, it allows the college to collect required ZTC data to report to the state Chancellor’s office.
Faculty should fill out this form every semester in addition to submitting their textbook adoptions with the bookstore. The form is located in Employee Self-Service in the eForms tile. Completing the form should take no more than five minutes, and there are instructions built into the form. Watch the ZTC eForm video instructions or look at the slideshow with step-by-step instructions for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions
The form is located in Employee Self-Service (the same place where you access pay stubs).
- Once logged in, choose eForms, then Employee Self Service eForms.
- In the left menu click Add or Remove ZTC Symbol to Class.
Watch the ZTC eForm video instructions or look at the slideshow with step-by-step instructions for more information.
The faculty ZTC eForm allows faculty to self-assign the ZTC symbol to their course sections that have no textbook costs. The information gets instantly updated in PeopleSoft where students register for classes. It also pushes through to the online class schedule. There are many advantages to this including reducing manual entry of ZTC data by classified professionals. It also allows faculty to update all their course sections at the same time, and it gives the Los Rios district office the information it needs to accurately report the number of ZTC sections to the state chancellor’s office.
The State Chancellor’s office is requiring that colleges report more granular details related to the costs of instructional materials.
Your classes won’t appear in the eForm until they’re officially added to the schedule in PeopleSoft. The semester list is limited to the terms in which the census date has not yet passed.
Ask your area dean if you have questions about this.
Yes. Please take the time to make sure your classes are tagged properly. Because we have started rolling over this data from semester to semester, it’s possible that your class might not be tagged ZTC even if it is, or vice versa.
In order to comply with state law and education code, it’s important to be transparent and to provide accurate information to our students.
Yes. Please submit both. The bookstore system and the ZTC eForm are not connected to each other.
Please fill out your bookstore adoptions in Follett Discover (accessed through Canvas) in addition to doing this ZTC eForm. This needs to be done every semester.
Your students will really appreciate having accurate information!
Please contact your area dean.
The form is available until the census date and may be submitted and re-submitted as many times as you need before that date.
Yes. It’s important to check the ZTC status of your courses every semester so that we’re reporting as accurate data as possible to the state.
The form is used to allow faculty to self-assign the ZTC symbol to their sections with zero textbook costs. It also gives the Los Rios district office the information it needs to report the numbers of ZTC sections to the state chancellor’s office.
The State chancellor’s office will use the data in conjunction with the ASCCC’s Open Educational Resources Initiative to support and advocate for OER and ZTC in the community colleges.
Yes. You can learn more by exploring the CCC MIS Data User Manual.
Specifically, Section 1.2.2 answers the question, “Why Does MIS Collect Data?”
Answer: The data collection function of MIS is mandated by legislation (see section 1.3 Legislation). The data collected by MIS provides accountability for the functioning of the CCC to governing bodies and drives funding.
You can see a full list of all CCC Data Elements on the Chancellor’s website.
- Because it’s housed within PeopleSoft, it allows for real-time updates that push to eServices where students register and to the online class schedule, including tagging your courses with the ZTC symbol.
- It allows faculty to update all of their classes at one time without having to fill out a form multiple times or without having to search for the section numbers you teach.
- It allows faculty to make updates up to the census date.