Reducing costs for students is the goal of no (FZTC) and low-cost (FLTC) materials courses at UAF. Tuition and textbook costs have skyrocketed the last ten years and some students can not afford to purchase expensive materials. Several recent studies have shown that 65% or more students skip purchasing textbooks due to cost. Offering courses with minimal materials cost can increase equitable learning opportunities for all students.
No and Low Cost Defined
- FLTC: A course tagged as “UAF Low Textbook Cost” in the schedule indicates that the required materials for the course are $40 or under.
- FZTC: A course tagged as “UAF Zero Textbook Cost” in the schedule indicates that the required materials for the course are $0.
- Course Materials are defined in AKSB 13 as: books, computer software, magnetic 8 media, DVDs, CD-ROMs, computer courseware, online services, online learning programs, or other media used to convey course information to a student. Course materials do not include equipment (like art supplies, calculators or physical lab materials), regular course fees, lab fees, proctoring fees, or tuition.
How do OER fit within FZTC and FLTC?
No and low-cost materials are not necessarily OER (Open Education Resources)– but OER are a great resource to start with when trying to reduce costs for students to get your course to a FLTC or FZTC status. OER allow for reuse, remixing, revision, retaining and redistribution of content. OER are licensed under an open license such as those offered through Creative Commons.
Have more questions? Check out the FAQ.
Current UAF FZTC and FLTC Courses
On each course in the list below, you will see “Attribute” in the lower right and either “FZTC” (zero textbook cost) or “FLTC” (low textbook cost) indicated. Click on courses below to view additional details. If you have questions, please visit our FAQ page.
Faculty: Is your course missing from this list? [or] Is your course on this list but should not be?
Please ask your department scheduling staff member to update the CourseLeaf Course Section Scheduler with either the FZTC or FLTC Attribute. Please also submit “No Store Supplied Materials/See Instructor for Details” to the bookstore through the text adoption process to ensure students are aware that a bookstore-purchased textbook is not required. Barnes & Noble Bookstore interface also allows for some OER materials to be defined within the Bundle program. For more information, please contact the bookstore.