Minnesota Legislature
SF 1599
as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 08/20/2021 10:06am
1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15
3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19
A bill for an act
relating to higher education; modifying the Z-Degree program; appropriating
money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 136F.305.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
Minnesota Statutes 2020, section 136F.305, is amended to read:
136F.305 Z-DEGREES.
Subdivision 1.
Definitions.
(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have
the meanings given.
deleted text begin
(b) "Custom textbook" means course materials that are compiled by a publisher at the
direction of a faculty member or, if applicable, the other adopting entity in charge of selecting
course materials for courses taught at a state college or university. Custom textbooks may
include items such as selections from original instructor materials, previously copyrighted
publisher materials, copyrighted third-party works, or elements unique to a specific state
college or university.
deleted text end
new text begin
(b) "Course" means a single unit of teaching in one subject area led by one or more
instructors with a definite start and end date and a fixed roster of students.
new text end
new text begin
(c) "Course materials" means a hard-copy or digital book, printed pages of instructional
material, including consumable workbooks, lab manuals, subscriptions, online homework
and quizzing platforms, and other required physical and digital content.
new text end
new text begin
(d) "Course section" means an instance of a course.
new text end
deleted text begin (c)deleted text end new text begin (e)new text end "Incentive" means anything provided to faculty to identify, review, adapt, author,
or adopt open deleted text begin textbooksdeleted text end new text begin educational resourcesnew text end .
deleted text begin (d)deleted text end new text begin (f)new text end "Open educational resources" means deleted text begin high-qualitydeleted text end teaching, learning, and research
deleted text begin resourcesdeleted text end new text begin materialsnew text end that deleted text begin residedeleted text end new text begin arenew text end in the public domain or have been released under an
intellectual property license that permits their free use and repurposing by othersdeleted text begin , and may
include other resources that are legally available and free of cost to studentsdeleted text end . Open
educational resources include deleted text begin course materials, modules, custom and open textbooks, articles,
faculty-created content, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or
techniques used to support access to knowledgedeleted text end new text begin textbooks and curricula, syllabi, lecture
notes, assignments, tests, projects, audio, video, and animationnew text end .
deleted text begin (e)deleted text end new text begin (g)new text end "Open textbook" means deleted text begin a textbook that is distributed using an open copyrightdeleted text end new text begin a
type of open educational resource released under an intellectual propertynew text end license that at a
minimum allows a student to obtain, retain, reuse, and redistribute the material at no cost.
new text begin
(h) "Library-curated materials" means diverse resources purchases by the library at no
additional cost to the student for the supplementation or replacement of course materials.
new text end
deleted text begin (f)deleted text end new text begin (i)new text end "System office" means the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system
office.
deleted text begin (g)deleted text end new text begin (j)new text end "Z-Degree" means a deleted text begin zero-textbook-costdeleted text end new text begin completenew text end associate's new text begin or bachelor's new text end degreenew text begin
program that exclusively uses course materials that are no cost to students such as open
educational resources, open textbooks, and library-curated materialsnew text end .new text begin Students may still
incur costs for printing digital materials or for the following: art supplies, calculators,
equipment, fees in statute or policy mandated to be charged by all colleges and universities,
campus discretionary fees established by the board and adopted by the college, personal
property, and service charges or course activities having value outside of the classroom.
new text end
Subd. 2.
Requirement.
new text begin (a) new text end Three additional colleges must offer the opportunity to earn
a Z-Degree by academic year 2020-2021. deleted text begin A college'sdeleted text end new text begin Two additional colleges or universities
must offer the opportunity to earn a Z-Degree by academic year 2023-2024.new text end Course offerings
deleted text begin for itsdeleted text end new text begin in anew text end 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 begin
(b) The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities shall support a continuous process
for colleges and universities to implement Z-Degrees, expand Z-Degree courses and sections,
and sustain existing Z-Degrees.
new text end
Subd. 3.
Open educational resource development.
(a) deleted text begin The Minnesota State Colleges
and Universities must develop a program to offer a Z-degree at three additional colleges by
expanding the use of open educational resources, including custom and open textbooks.deleted text end
The system office must provide opportunities for faculty to identify, review, adapt, deleted text begin author,deleted text end new text begin
create, share,new text end and adopt open educational resources. The system office must develop
incentives to academic departments to identify, review, adapt, author, or adopt open
educational resources within their academic programs.
(b) The programs and incentives developed under this subdivision must be implemented
pursuant to faculty collective bargaining agreements.
Subd. 4.
Report.
new text begin Annually by January 15, new text end the board must submit reports deleted text begin by January 13,
2021, and January 12, 2022,deleted text end to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative
committees with jurisdiction over higher education. Each report must include (1) the number
of courses new text begin and course sections new text end transitioned deleted text begin to using an open textbook resulting from the
programs in this sectiondeleted text end new text begin into a new Z-Degreenew text end , and (2) the total amount of student textbook
savings resulting from the transitions.
Sec. 2. new text begin APPROPRIATION.
new text end
new text begin
$....... in fiscal year 2022 is appropriated from the general fund to the Board of Trustees
of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities to implement the Z-Degree program under
Minnesota Statutes, section 136F.305.
new text end