ARC is part of a districtwide initiative to reduce textbook costs for students by adopting Open Educational Resources (OER) and other Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) options. Many ARC course sections now proudly display the ZTC symbol 
in the class schedule, helping students to easily identify courses that use free or no-cost materials.
The ZTC Designation Form is the process used to assign the ZTC or Low Textbook Cost (LTC) symbol 
in the schedule of courses and to collect required data for reporting to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.
When and How to Complete the ZTC Designation Form
Faculty should complete the ZTC Designation Form each semester, in addition to submitting their textbook adoptions to the bookstore.
The form is located in Employee Self-Service and takes 3-5 minutes to complete. Step-by-step instructions are built into the form, and additional guidance is available through:
NEW! Introducing the XB12 Code Helper Bot
Determining the correct XB12 code for your courses just got easier!
The XB12 Code Helper Bot guides faculty through a few simple questions about their course materials to help them quickly identify the correct code to report.
Using this tool ensures consistency and accuracy in ZTC reporting across the district while saving faculty time. Completing the ZTC Designation Form and accurately reporting your XB12 code supports:
- Transparency for students seeking affordable course options.
- Compliance with state reporting requirements.
- Districtwide efforts to expand the use of OER and ZTC materials.
Frequently Asked Questions
| XB12 Code |
State Chancellor’s Office Definition |
Los Rios Definition |
Examples | Los Rios Class Schedule Designation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Section has no associated course material | No instructional materials are used, including assigned readings or videos |
|
Zero Textbook Costs (ZTC) |
| C | Section has course material costs none of which are passed on to students | All or some instructional materials have an associated cost, but have been purchased by the college |
|
Zero Textbook Costs (ZTC) |
| D | Section has low course material costs ($30 or less) | All instructional materials have a combined price of $30 or less based on the pre-tax retail price of new material at the college bookstores |
|
Low Cost Textbook (LCT) |
| E | Section uses only no-cost, OER course material | All primary required instructional materials are available under a Creative Commons License (e.g CC BY, CC BY-NC) and are freely available online (no Los Rios login required) |
|
Zero Textbook Costs (ZTC) |
| F | Section uses only no-cost digital course materials that do not meet OER guideline | All primary required instructional materials are freely and legally available to students, but are not openly licensed |
|
Zero Textbook Costs (ZTC) |
| G | Section uses a mix of no-cost OER and other cost bearing resources, but no costs are passed to the student | A combination of instructional materials that are available under a Creative Commons License (e.g CC BY, CC BY-NC) and that were purchased by the college |
|
Zero Textbook Costs (ZTC) |
| Y | Section does not meet no-cost or low-cost course material criteria | Instructional materials that have a combined new pre-tax cost of $30.01 or more at the college bookstore and are required to successfully complete the course |
|
XB12 Data Element Code Infographic & Definitions © 2024 by Los Rios CC District is licensed under CC BY 4.0 and was adapted from XB12 Codes Infographic by Caroline Hallam, Glendale Community College and XB 12 Data Element Codes & Definitions at GCC by Glendale Community College, both licensed under CC BY 4.0.
The form is located in Employee Self-Service. 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 and type 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.
If you have questions about this, ask your area dean.
Yes. If your class is using free instructional materials (free textbook, homework, lab manual, etc.), but you require other things with an associated cost (e.g. lab safety equipment, art materials, attending a live performance), you can still add the ZTC symbol to your course. However, a state law (AB 607) does require transparency in all course material costs. This means you should report estimated costs either through the bookstore or with a class section note. This slideshow walks you through that process: Reporting Material Costs and Adopting Supplies at the Los Rios Bookstore.
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 (example: fall 2024 rolls to fall 2025), 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.
This can sometimes happen because data rolls over from semester to semester (example: fall 2024 rolls to fall 2025). You can remove the symbol by logging into the form and selecting “My textbook is not free” from the drop-down menu in the Add/Remove ZTC Symbol column. Watch the ZTC eForm video instructions or look at the slideshow with step-by-step instructions for more information.
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 step needs to be completed every semester. Your students will 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 and types 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, the form allows for real-time updates that push to eServices (where students register) and to the online class schedule, including tagging 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 they teach.
- It allows faculty to make updates up to the census date.