What is an Affordable UF badge?

The Affordable UF Badge is a designation awarded to courses using required materials that cost $20 or less per credit hour. Badges are visible to students when they check their textbook requirements, which allows them to easily identify courses with low- or no-cost materials. Students can also search for affordable courses in the UF Schedule of Courses.

What can I do with an Affordable UF Badge?

If your course is eligible to receive the Affordable UF Badge, you will receive a digital copy of the designation. You can display our badge in many places, including your:

  • Syllabus
  • Canvas site
  • Email signature line
  • Digital resume/CV
  • Social media
  • Website

How do I apply for an Affordable UF Badge?

  • Submit your textbook adoption at the UF Textbook Adoption website. To be eligible for the badge, you must submit your adoption form before the textbook adoption deadline.
  • If you think your adoption meets the $20 per credit hour threshold, enter price estimates of your required textbooks in the “Affordable UF” section at the end of the textbook adoption form and click “next.” Scroll to the bottom of the page to view your course’s estimated price per credit hour.
  • Submit your textbook adoption. After you submit your adoption, the Center for Teaching Excellence will review your price per credit hour estimates. If your course is eligible to receive the Affordable UF badge, you will be sent a digital designation of the badge.

 

What is the ZTC (zero textbook cost) badge?

The ZTC (zero textbook cost) badge recognizes sections of courses that go above and beyond by having no other costs beyond tuition and fees for the course. Such courses may rely on open educational resources, library resources, or academic articles to provide students with an affordable yet academically rigorous learning experience.

How is the ZTC badge determination made?

An eligible section must not require the student to pay for any materials or supplies beyond the following:

  • Tuition and fees
  • Material and supply fees or lab fees assessed as part of the student’s tuition and fees
  • Technology as part of Student Computing Requirements (UF Policy 12-030)
  • Common educational supplies (e.g., pens, paper, notebooks, calculators, exam books, basic safety goggles, etc.)

Any requirement for students to purchase access to an external learning platform, membership fees to a professional organization, specialist lab equipment, and the like may render a course section ineligible for the ZTC badge but still eligible for the Affordable UF badge if the cost is at or under the $20/credit hour threshold.

When considering whether a required material is a common educational supply, the Textbook Affordability Coordinator will consider whether a typical student would naturally expect to have to purchase the supply on their own for the course, even if not explicitly instructed to do so (e.g., purchasing a calculator for a mathematics course). If software is required for a course, the Textbook Affordability Coordinator will take into consideration whether the software is provided to students free of charge via UF Apps or other UF resources. If a material was expected to be purchased for a previous course in a sequence and then used again in a later course, noting that will be helpful in making the ZTC determination.

Where did the $20 per credit hour figure come from?

The $20 per credit hour benchmark was set by the State University System of Florida in the 2019 Action Plan for the Pricing of Textbooks and Other Instructional Materials.

How is the amount per credit hour calculated?

When calculating the price per credit hour, we use the price of a new, print textbook purchased from the UF Bookstore unless the instructor has indicated during the textbook adoption process that they require a different version (UF All Access, older edition needed, ebook only, available for free, etc). The total required textbook price is then divided by the number of credit hours in the course (total cost of required textbooks/course credit hours = price per credit hour).

Are lab fees or materials and supply fees included in the textbook affordability calculation?

No. Fees assessed during course registration are not included when calculating the price per credit hour.

Can I mix and match resources?

Yes. Course materials can be derived from multiple sources as long as the total cost of purchase is $20 or less per credit hour.

I was awarded an Affordable UF Badge, but I don’t see it in the UF Schedule of Courses. Where is it?

For instructions on how to add the Affordable UF badge to the UF Schedule of Courses contact CTE.

I told my students to buy a cheap version of the required textbook from an online vendor. Why aren’t my materials considered affordable?

When determining whether or not a course is affordable, we use the price of a new, print textbook purchased from the UF Bookstore unless the instructor has indicated during the textbook adoption process that they require a different version (UF All Access, older edition needed, ebook only, etc).  While materials may be less expensive from online vendors, many students rely on having access to a financial aid voucher that may be used at the UF Bookstore prior to the release of financial aid funds. Using the new, print cost also establishes a stable benchmark for state reporting purposes.

My course materials are over the $20 per credit hour threshold by just a few cents. Why can’t it be considered affordable?

The $20 threshold was established by the Florida Board of Governors and adopted as the standard across the state. This figure cannot be changed, however, there are circumstances that may mitigate the cost of your course materials:

  • The textbook is purchased for a sequence of courses- it only needs to be purchased once and will be used for two or more courses within a degree program.
  • Your textbook adoption was processed incorrectly.
  • Your course materials are freely accessible to students at the UF Libraries.
  • Your materials are free online.

If there are no mitigating circumstances but you would still like to explore making your courses more affordable, please consider scheduling a consultation with the Affordable UF team.

I told my students to obtain a rental copy of their materials. Why aren’t rented textbooks considered affordable?

The cost of textbook rentals is not included in the affordability determination due to potential issues of availability. Also, by considering the purchase price rather than the rental price, we work to ensure that students have access to any content they may need in preparation for program admission exams, exit exams, certification and licensure exams, etc. Similarly, digital content must remain available through students’ time at the university to be eligible for the Affordable UF badge.

I don’t remember applying for this badge. How can I ensure that I am not contacted in the future?

When you (or a proxy from your department) submits your textbook adoption, you have the option to apply for the Affordable UF Badge while completing your textbook adoption form. If you’d like to opt out of the Affordable UF Badge initiative in the future, simply bypass the application by not filling it out.

Is this program mandatory? Am I required to apply for an Affordable UF Badge?

No. Participation in this program is completely voluntary. If you don’t want to participate, simply skip the application when you submit your textbook adoption.

Where can I get help with finding affordable course content?

Schedule a consultation with the CTE team, or check out these resources for instructors.

Which courses have Affordable UF Badges?

Check out courses that have been granted Affordable UF Badges.

Does my Affordable UF Badge designation roll over to subsequent semesters?

No. You must apply for the badge every semester.

What other reasons could cause my Affordable UF Badge application to be denied?

  • If a text is marked as required but you do not provide a price (and the text is not indicated as free on the web or available through the UF Libraries), we will deny the badge application.
  • You indicated that a text is available through the UF Libraries, but we determined that the text was not available.
  • You indicated that a text is available for free through the web but did not provide a link or instructions on how to access the text (such as available through Canvas).
  • You inadvertently marked texts as “required” instead of “recommended” or “optional” which increased the cost per credit hour to over $20.