2025 Z-Degree Report
The 2025 Z-Degree Report to the Legislature is available now. Learn more about the history of Z-degrees at Minnesota State, including the systemwide support and grant support from the Minnesota Legislature.
- In the 2024 academic year, the annual savings to students reached $3.1 million.
- Since the inception of Z-degrees at Minnesota State, the savings to over 126,000 students totals $12.6 million.
- Ten colleges offer Z-degrees, which allow students to complete an associate degree with zero textbook costs.
- The initiative is impacting the equity gap for students of color, first-generation students, and students who receive Pell Grants. Those categories of students took at least one
Z-degree course at a slightly higher percentage than a comparable group of students.”
Fall 2024 Z-Degree Report
The fall 2024 Z-Degree Report features profiles of the first ten colleges to implement Z-degrees. View the digital version, or order physical copies to have on your campus.
Apply for Z-Degree Funding
There is still time to apply for Z-degree funding, the deadline for applications is 4:00 p.m. on February 6, 2025.
Z-degrees, with funding from the State of Minnesota, supports the development of a complete associate or bachelor’s degree program that exclusively uses course resources that are no cost to students.
Grant Types
Applicants can apply for one of three grant opportunities for FY25-26:
- faculty development
- open textbook exploration and review
- building open textbook capacity in the transfer curriculum
Exploration award requirements include:
- Participate in Minnesota State Z-degree community of practice
- Meet each semester with Associate Vice Chancellor for Educational Development and Technology and System Director for Student Success Technologies to discuss project status
- course development for Z-degree with 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
- Acquisition of Library curated resources that would be available at no-cost to students
Implementation award requirements include:
- Ability to offer a Z-degree by spring 2026
- Enabling of the Course Marking feature in ISRS which allows for the identification of no-cost courses
- Participate in Minnesota State Z-degree community of practice
- Meet each semester with Associate Vice Chancellor for Educational Development and Technology and System Director for Student Success Technologies to discuss project status
- Add courses or course sections
- Updating courses to reflect changes in instructors or content
- Increase the number of faculty using zero textbook cost materials in a course already part of an existing Z-degree
Expansion and/or Sustaining award requirements include:
- Continued use of the Course Marking feature in ISRS which allows for the identification of no-cost courses
- Participate in Minnesota State Z-degree community of practice
- Meet each semester with Associate Vice Chancellor for Educational Development and Technology and System Director for Student Success Technologies to discuss project status
Campuses are eligible to apply for only one type of grant each year.
Download an Application
Minnesota State faculty and staff can find the application and learn more on the Z-degree page of the OER Community Site (log in using your StarID@MinnState.edu).
Deadline is 4:00 p.m. on February 6, 2025.
Questions?
Contact Michael Olesen.
Learn more about Z-degrees and OER at Minnesota State at www.MinnState.edu/OER.
