Students love OER—and they want real meaningful ways to choose it. Many CA community colleges now claim to have ZTC pathways built with OER. Join us as we examine the space between the concept of a ZTC degree pathway and what it would take for students to actually find, choose, and follow one. This session shares findings from a mixed-methods ZTC Degree Feasibility Study funded by the Michelson 20MM Foundation Spark Grant at Irvine Valley College. Centering student voice and autonomy, the project examines how colleges can move from hidden affordability to student-facing opportunity. OER is an equity measure, and to benefit students most marginalized in higher education, student choice and autonomy may need to be built into these systems. Student and librarian researchers will share findings, plus practical ideas colleges can use to make ZTC and OER pathways more visible, usable, and navigable.
Attendees of this session will be able to:- Differentiate between OER/ZTC as an institutional label or practice and OER/ZTC as a student-navigable pathway and choice.
- Interpret mixed-methods evidence to identify where students lose access, trust, or choice in OER/ZTC pathway navigation.
- Analyze how ambient discoverability operates in registration and planning systems and identify common friction points that limit intentional student choice.
- Apply a student-ready feasibility framework to assess how visible, usable, and navigable OER/ZTC pathways are in their own context.
- Identify 2–3 actionable next steps aligned to local constraints, such as scheduling, IT, advising, and faculty reporting, to improve students’ ability to intentionally choose OER/ZTC options.
