SF 699

as introduced - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 05/23/2019 10:15am

A bill for an act
relating to higher education; establishing a Z-Degree program at the Minnesota
State Colleges and Universities; requiring instructors to review open educational
resources; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2018, section
136F.58, by adding a subdivision; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 136F.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [136F.305] Z-DEGREES.
new text end

new text begin A "Z-Degree" is a zero-textbook-cost associate's degree. Each college must offer the
opportunity to earn a Z-Degree. A college's course offerings for its Z-Degree program must
include at least two distinct courses in each transfer curriculum goal area and at least enough
credits in each transfer curriculum goal area to complete the transfer curriculum package.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 136F.58, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Open educational resources. new text end

new text begin (a) Each instructor must review and approve
open educational resources for use in a course. "Open educational resources" are high-quality
teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been
released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and repurposing
by others, and may include other resources that are legally available and free of cost to
students. Open educational resources include course materials, modules, textbooks, articles,
faculty-created content, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or
techniques used to support access to knowledge.
new text end

new text begin (b) Instructors who are not teaching a full course load are required to actively identify
additional open educational resources for their courses.
new text end

Sec. 3. new text begin APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin $1,000,000 in fiscal year 2020 and $1,000,000 in fiscal year 2021 are appropriated from
the general fund to the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
for developing and offering courses to implement the Z-Degree textbook program under
Minnesota Statutes, section 136F.305.
new text end