Program Overview

Introduction to Low & No-Cost Educational Resources

The University of California, Merced, has implemented a program to promote the use of low and no-cost educational resources, including open educational resources (OER). This initiative aims to reduce the financial burden on students and provide high-quality learning materials.

Program History

The program was initially funded by the UC Merced Library and the Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning (CETL) to provide Zero-Cost Course Materials (ZCCM) mini-grants to faculty. These grants were awarded from spring 2019 to fall 2021. In 2002, the Library acquired funding through the Scholar Transformational Impact Fund to renew this program, which expanded to include awards for faculty who significantly reduced costs in their classes to achieve Low-Cost Course Materials (LCCM).

Past Awards

The program has awarded several grants to faculty members who have implemented low and no-cost educational resources in their courses. The awards are categorized into two periods: 2018-2021 and 2022-2025.

ZCCM Grants Awarded (2018-2021)

• Fall 2018:
  • Econ 10, Inferential Statistics, Professor Jason Lee, Adoption of OpenStax Introductory Business Statistics
  • IH 206, GIS for World History, Professor Karl Ryavec, Adoption of Mapping Political Economies over Time
• Fall 2018:
  • Wri 1, Academic Writing, Professors Catherine Koehler and Amy Fenstermaker, Updated curriculum using library licensed resources
  • Wri 10, Reading and Composition, Professors Catherine Koehler and Amy Fenstermaker, Updated curriculum using library licensed resources
• Spring 2019:
  • Phys 8L, Introductory Physics II Lab, Professors Carrie Menke, Toni Stone, Kristina Callaghan, and Stefanie Stepp, Creation of a new open lab manual
  • Phys 9L, Introductory Physics II Lab, Professors Carrie Menke, Toni Stone, Kristina Callaghan, and Stefanie Stepp, Creation of a new open lab manual
• Spring 2019:
  • Econ 112, GIS for World Economic History, Professors Rowena Gray and Karl Ryavec, Adoption of OER and library licensed materials
• Fall 2019:
  • Econ 1, Introduction to Economics, Professor Jason Lee, Adoption of OpenStax Principles of Economics
  • ME 140, Vibrations and Control, Professor Jian-Qiao Sun, Development of an open textbook
• Spring 2020:
  • Bio 001, Contemporary Biology, Professors Petra Kranzfelder, Laura Beaster-Jones, Jennifer Manilay, and Jessica Blois, Adoption of OpenStax Biology 2e
  • Math 131, Numerical Methods Science & Engineering, Professor Erica Rutter, Modify Tea Time Numerical Analysis (OER)
• Fall 2020:
  • Wri 100, Advanced Writing, Professor Iris Ruiz, Adoption of OER and library licensed materials
  • CE 10, Surveying and Geomatics Fundamentals, Professor Siddaiah Yarra, Adoption of OER materials; development of teaching materials
• Spring 2021:
  • Soc 10, Statistics for Sociology, Professors Camila Alvarez and Charlie Eaton, Development of free software tools, lecture slides, lesson modules, and interactive assignments for Du Boisian methods
  • CSE 176, Introduction to Machine Learning, Professor Miguel Carreria-Periñan, Development of a self-standing, open-access textbook
  • ENGR 57, Statics and Dynamics, Professor Siddaiah Yarra, Adopt an existing OER
  • ENG/PHIL 121, Existentialism, Professor Nigel Hatton, Use of Library e-resources and OER

ZCCM / LCCM Grants Awarded (2022-2025)

• Fall 2022:
  • PH 106 Health Policy, Professor Susana Ramirez, Use of Library e-resources; Longest's Health Policymaking in the United States
• Spring 2023:
  • ENGR 155 Engineering Economic Analysis, Professor Siddaiah Yarra, Development of lecture slides and online quizzes via CatCourses
  • GEOG/HS 112, Sec. 01 GIS for World Economic History, Professor Karl Ryavec, Created additional exercises requiring use of GIS data to expand the GIS Lab Manual series titled "Mapping Political Economics over Time"
  • MATH 21, Sec. 30 Calculus I for Physical Sciences and Engineering, Professor Alexander Yatskar, Used Desmos graph animations and OpenStax textbook
• Fall 2023:
  • ESS 002 Sustainability Science, Professor Sylvain Masclin, Used selected chapters from OER materials and additional resources, including YouTube, to create class content
  • ECON 001 Introduction to Economics, Professor Todd Sorensen, Used freely available texts from CORE including The Economy 2.0
  • ECON 121 Economics of Banking and Financial Institutions, Professor Jason Lee, Shared lecture notes via CatCourses; used OER Money and Banking (Robert Wright)
  • ECON 005 Introduction to Business and Finance, Professor Justin Hicks, Used multiple OER texts including Personal Finance (Boies), Introduction to Business (Gitman et al. at OpenStax), Introduction to Financial Accounting: U.S. GAAP Adaptation (Annand & Dauderis, Open Textbook Library), and Introduction to Marketing 1 2e / Introduction to Marketing II 2e (NCSS & Lumen Learning)
• Spring 2023:
  • PSY 124 Health Disparities, Professor Bobby Hutchinson, (no details provided)
  • SPAN 103, Sec. 01 Spanish Composition and Conversation, Professor Elizabeth Cisneros, Created activities for students, including Mentimeter polls, for each course module
  • ENGR 057, 01 Statics & Dynamics Engineering, Professor Marcus Lee, Engaged in content creation to replace use of a commercial platform
  • IH 221, Digital Approaches to Text Analysis, Professor Yiran Xu, Selected journal articles and book chapters made available on CatCourses through the university library
• Fall 2024:
  • ANTH 177, Forensic Anthropology, Professor Beth K. Scaffidi, Used a title available through the Library; created lecture slides, quiz banks, and weekly hands-on labs
  • MATH 011, Calculus I (Section 30), Professor James Ogaja, Used myOpenMath for online homework assignments; integrated into CatCourses; used OpenStax's Calculus, Volume 1 textbook as an additional resource students could reference

Conclusion

The University of California, Merced's program to promote low and no-cost educational resources has been successful in reducing the financial burden on students and providing high-quality learning materials. The program has awarded several grants to faculty members who have implemented low and no-cost educational resources in their courses, and it continues to support the development and use of open educational resources.