Faculty use Verba Collect to submit their textbook adoptions. The Bookstore, Library, and Academic Scheduler work together to enter all courses which meet the No Cost Textbook and 50 Dollars or Under Textbook course designations into the Student Self-Service so that these designations will be visible to students at the time of registration. 

Effective July 20, 2015, Section 4 of Oregon HB 2871 states:

Each public university listed in ORS 352.002 and community college shall prominently designate courses whose course materials exclusively consist of open or free textbooks or other low-cost or no-cost course materials. The course designation required by this section must appear in the published course descriptions that are on the Internet or are otherwise provided to students at the time of course registration

Please note, this is a legislative mandate that UCC is required by law to comply with. If your course section meets one of the two designations then it must be prominently designated as such, in our Course Schedule. You cannot opt-out of labeling your course.

No Cost Textbook = $0

All required course materials are completely free. This includes textbooks and other text-based materials, workbooks, lab manuals, online homework platforms and special access codes.

No Cost Textbook Example: The instructor provides a link to a free, online version of the online textbooks, but gives students the option to print-on-demand; as long as the instructor does not require the student to print the textbook, the cost of printing does not disqualify the No Cost Textbook designation.

50 Dollars or Under Textbook = $1 - $50

The total cost of all required course materials is $50 or less. This includes textbooks and other text-based materials, workbooks, lab manuals, online homework platforms and special access codes from publishers.

50 Dollars or Under Textbook Example: The instructor requires each student to purchase their own copy of a textbook, and after all publisher markups, and UCC bookstore markups, the total cost is no higher than $50.

The following definitions regarding what is included in these course designations will be effective beginning Spring Term 2018.

Included: All required textbooks, course packs, and other text-based materials, workbooks, lab manuals, online homework platforms, access codes and other publisher-provided curricular materials.

Excluded: Art supplies, calculators or other equipment, and any Course Fees. Also excluded are optional texts that students are not required to purchase for your course section.

Optional costs are not included. For example: you provide students with a link to a free, online version of your materials but give them the option to purchase printed versions. The optional cost of printing these materials is not included in your calculation. However, if the print version is required in your class, it will be included.

If a text is used across multiple courses in a sequence DO NOT base your calculation on the cost divided by those courses. For example, a text that costs $120 that is required for 3 sequenced courses DOES NOT meet the 50 Dollars or Under Textbook label requirement. Not all students take all courses in a series. Students may take courses over time and may have to pay for edition changes. Students must pay the $120 and cannot budget for 3 even payments.

What cost will be used? What if materials are less expensive on Amazon, etc.? Text-related costs for these designations will be calculated using the price at the UCC Bookstore. While materials may be less expensive elsewhere, students may have access to a financial aid voucher that may be used at the UCC Bookstore prior to the release of financial aid funds by the college.  

What if my text is available as an e-book through the UCC library? If the required text is available as a free-to-students e-book through the UCC library, as long as you do not require the printed text in your class, your course can qualify for the No Cost Textbook designation. However, we strongly recommend that you work with the Library to determine longevity of access to any particular e-book.  

What if I don’t require any texts or “outside” materials for my class? Your course CAN qualify for the No Cost Textbook designation if no “outside” materials or texts are required. For the purposes of these cost designations, it doesn’t matter if you are using instructor-created materials, activities, slides, websites, library materials, etc. Apply the question: does my course have any text or publisher-related costs? If the answer is no, the course meets the No Cost Textbook designation. If the answer is yes, but is $50 or less, the course meets the 50 Dollars or Under Textbook designation.