Faculty

Calculate the cost of text/publisher materials for your courses. Contact the bookstore for assistance with this step. If your course meets one of the 2 designations, either contact the person who enters scheduling information for your department into Banner (usually your IAA) to notify them, or wait for your FDC or IAA to ask for this information.
If your course doesn’t meet one of these designations, you don’t need to do anything.

Department Chairs & Deans

Work with your faculty and schedule entry-ers to develop processes to collect this information from faculty each term. Designate roles and responsibilities for FDCs and schedule entry-ers in this information collection process. Suggestions include using a Google form or spreadsheet to allow faculty to input their own information to reduce the workload for all involved. Contact the OER Steering Committee for more guidance on collecting this information (oer@pcc.edu).

Schedule Entry-ers/IAAs

Work with your faculty and FDCs to develop processes to collect this information from faculty each term. Designate roles and responsibilities for FDCs and schedule entry-ers in this information collection process. Suggestions include using a Google form or spreadsheet to allow faculty to input their own information to reduce the workload for all involved.

While we ask that you help to facilitate these processes to collect this information, it is the responsibility of the faculty to communicate these designations by the time the classes are to be built in Banner (or when registration begins, at the latest). If the designation level of the class is not provided to you, the class should not receive either designation in Banner and will display in the online schedule as usual. Contact the OER Steering Committee for more guidance on collecting this information (oer@pcc.edu).  

For instructions on how to enter material cost designations in Banner, see the SSADETL page on the Schedule Entry Spaces site: https://spaces.pcc.edu/spaces/schedule/pages/125667049/SSADETL+-+Course+Details+for+CRNs#SSADETLCourseDetailsforCRNs-SSADETLTab2:SectionFees

Designation Determination FAQ

Optional costs should not be included in your calculation.

For example: you provide students with a link to a free, online version of your materials but give them the option to purchase materials in print. The cost of optional print materials should not be included in your calculation. However, if the print version is required in your class, you should include that cost in your calculation.

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 $40 or under 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.

Only identify courses that meet these cost-cap requirements ($0 or $40 or under).

By default, classes that do not meet one of these two cost caps will not be designated (same as now). Schedule-builders will have the new ability to call out courses that meet one of these two material cost caps in the online schedule, but all other courses will remain unmarked by default.

What cost should I use? What if materials are less expensive on Amazon, etc.?

To calculate your text-related costs for these designations, use the cost of materials in the PCC Bookstore. While materials may be less expensive elsewhere, students using financial aid must purchase materials from the bookstore.

What if my text is available as an e-book through the PCC library?

If your required text is available as a free-to-students ebook through the PCC library, as long as you don’t require the printed text in your class, your course can qualify for the $0 cost designation. However, in this case, the text should not be listed as “required” through the bookstore’s site, because students may assume they must purchase it. Consider listing the text as “optional” on the bookstore’s site and messaging students about their choices before the term begins.

What if I don’t require any texts or “outside” materials for my class?

Your course CAN qualify for the $0 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 $0 designation. If the answer is yes, but $40 or less, the course meets the low-cost designation.

What if I am unsure about the cost of my materials?

Consult the PCC Bookstore for guidance. If you are still unsure about whether your course meets one of the two designations at the registration deadline, DO NOT ask your schedule-builder to designate your course.