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What is Course Marking?
Marking course sections that use Zero-Cost and Low-Cost course materials has become a new addition to college and university landscapes. This has been brought about by legislative mandates and the want to provide equitable access to course materials to students.
At UTRGV we define these courses as
- Zero-Cost - Courses that have no associated learning material costs (not including supplies like calculators, scantrons, goggles, etc.).
- Low-Cost - Courses that require all learning materials to total less than $40 when purchased.
Course materials are textbooks, courseware/access codes, and software; course materials DO NOT include supplies such as lab coats, goggles, scantron sheets, calculators, or other reusable items.
These efforts are supported by Academic Affairs, the University Library, UTRGV IT, the Office of the University Registrar, UTRGV Campus Stores, and more.
Why Mark Courses?
There are many reasons why there is a course marking process at UTRGV.
Legislative Mandates
According to HB 2504, UTRGV is required to make certain course information, including required and recommended reading materials, publicly available on its website. In addition, new legislation from 2021 (HB 1027) requires open educational resources (OER) and affordable course materials to be identified in the course schedule at least 30 days before classes begin. This will allow students to make informed decisions about the cost of learning materials during registration.
Cost Transparency
Marking courses as a Zero-Cost or Low-cost course increases cost transparency for our students and allows them the ability to better plan for course material costs. When faculty engage in creating low-cost courses it provides equity in access by removing or reducing financial barriers for students.
How to Mark Courses
Course Materials Reporting Form
UTRGV Faculty can begin the course materials adoption process by completing the Course Materials Reporting Form. This form ensures compliance with these state laws and allows proper marking of zero-cost and low-cost courses. This simple form is connected to UTRGV faculty profiles and will automatically pull assigned course information for the upcoming semester. After entering UTRGV credentials, faculty can click through the question prompts for each assigned course to complete their course marking requirements.
All required course material types (eg. textbooks, open educational resources (OER), course packets, YouTube videos, access codes, library licensed eBooks, mobile apps, etc.) should be indicated in the form. For faculty using zero-cost or low-cost materials, information will be gathered to mark courses properly in the course schedule. For courses without any required materials, course material information should be recorded by flagging “No Textbooks Required.”
Course Marking Timeline
Submission deadlines for Course Marking coincide with Textbook Adoptions from the Campus stores.
- Summer Course Tentative Deadline: March 15th
- Fall Course Tentative Deadline: April 15th
- Spring Course Tentative Deadline: October 15th