A Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) course is a course that requires no textbook cost for students. Hillsborough College (HC) is partnering with the Florida Virtual Campus (FLVC) on a statewide initiative to identify ZTC courses. For more information, see the Florida’s Zero Textbook Cost Course Indicator Overview.
HC’s Zero Textbook Cost courses can be found when you search for classes by using the filter, “Textbooks: Zero Textbook Cost.” Once you are in a ZTC course, you will see a box next to the course title. The box contains the words “Zero Textbook Cost.” If you hover over this box, “This course has a zero-cost textbook” is displayed.
HC Zero Textbook Cost Savings
Since its launch in 2022, Hillsborough College’s Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) initiative has been transforming the student experience. To date, the program has generated an estimated $10 million in student savings and delivered over 7,450 ZTC course sections, dramatically expanding access and affordability. Even more impressively, ZTC courses have contributed to a 5 percent reduction in D, F, and W grades, helping students stay on track and succeed. Today, more than 21 percent of all course sections at Hillsborough College are ZTC, underscoring the institution’s commitment to innovation, equity, and student success.
According to the FLVC ZTC Libguide, Hillsborough College is the state leader in the number of ZTC sections uploaded to the FLVC Florida Shines website. We are also the first in the state to implement a student facing ZTC filter.
The Impact of Textbook Costs on Students
The Student Testimonials: The Impact of Textbook Costs on Our Lives video highlights a national issue: rising textbook prices are forcing students to cut back on classes and choose between essentials and learning materials. Students overwhelmingly support Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) courses—87% say ZTC materials are equal in quality to traditional textbooks and offer clearer, more up-to-date content. Many also report stronger instructor engagement and better overall learning experience. One of the students stated, “I feel the professor has a better relationship with students by making sure everything is up to date, and by the professor having full control of our learning it is easier to understand.”
OER Creation
HC is proud to offer HC Pressbooks—the only self-hosted Pressbooks system in Florida. For years, we have collaborated with faculty to empower them with complete control over their content by creating open educational resources (OER) textbooks. In 2025, we launched our groundbreaking AI OER Creation Program, which equips faculty with advanced AI tools to merge their subject matter expertise with innovative technology, enabling the rapid production of open textbooks in under six months. This program positions HC as a national leader in OER innovation.
All ZTC courses and textbook projects provide students with day-one access to fully accessible materials that meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA or higher. Dual enrollment students no longer wait for textbooks, and most ZTC courses offer immediate, permanent access, giving every student the tools they need to succeed from the start.
Z-Degree Initiative
A Z-Degree is a complete academic program in which students can finish all required courses without paying for any textbooks. Hillsborough College was awarded the Southern Regional Education Board’s (SREB) Open Education Capacity Building Grant. We’re creating zero-cost materials for BSC 2010, CGS 2100, and SPC 1608, and by fall 2026, students in AA.LA, AA.PSY, and AA.MED will be able to complete their entire degree programs with no textbook costs.
This educational material includes AI-generated content from ChatGPT by OpenAI. The original content created by Josh Hill from Hillsborough College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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