Pasadena City College’s push for zero-cost textbooks

The ever-rising cost of education in the United States is becoming an increasingly difficult problem to address, and its effects on students are worsening by the year. College students are taking on massive loans with no guarantee they will be able to pay them off. A college degree no longer guarantees a job, and graduates are having an increasingly hard time getting employed. Not only is debt a problem for both students and graduates, but the everyday cost of living is also rising. Even for those attending community college, affording supplies and books for classes is a luxury for many. Most textbooks cost over $150, adding up quickly each semester and draining the money college students could rely on for other necessities.

Thankfully, people in power are fighting to eliminate these educational expenses.

PCC Area 4 Trustee Tammy Silver has worked on the issue during her tenure.

“California Community Colleges came up with a brilliant idea to save families and students money – Zero Textbook Cost,” said Silver. “When you consider that a typical community college class costs about $150, before the Zero Textbook Cost program, students could easily pay more for their textbook than the class itself. In 2021, the State Legislature allocated funding so faculty could work on creating textbooks. All the 116 community colleges worked together and divided up the subjects so we would not overlap the work done at other colleges.”

‘PCC has hundreds and hundreds of Zero Cost Textbook classes this semester.’ Tammy Silver

“The collections of readings and materials faculty put together were uploaded and now, a professor at any California Community College can choose to use these high-quality, free “textbooks” for their class,” she continued. “Pasadena City College is proud to have created the Zero Cost Textbooks for Business Administration, Linguistics, Economics, French, Geography, and so many more. It’s easy for PCC students to find classes where professors have chosen to use Zero Cost Textbooks. For this Fall 2026 semester, students looking at the Schedule of Class check the ‘ZTC Only’ checkbox to see only classes with no cost for their textbook.PCC has hundreds and hundreds of Zero Cost Textbook classes this semester.”

Geoffrey Baum, PCC Trustee Area 1 candidate, has done extensive work with California community colleges to provide both students and faculty with free access to textbooks created under the Creative Commons license. He has also helped with the “zero textbook cost” pathways, allowing students to earn their degree without paying for textbooks. Students and their families spend so much on tuition and housing, and relieving the burden of paying hundreds of dollars for books they will only use for a semester does far more for students than people realize.

While physical textbooks are used less often (usually in favor of digital copies), they remain unavoidable for some students.

“Some professors require their students to buy physical textbooks,” says one student, a business major. People are still too often stuck taking classes that leave them no choice but to spend money on textbooks that could’ve been provided for free. Getting all professors to switch to low- or no-cost textbook options proves a challenge for those looking to make life easier for college students, especially for professors who are “old school,” for lack of a better word.

“Older professors are usually the ones who use physical textbooks to teach the curriculum.”

The process of making changes like these often involves conflict and doesn’t always run smoothly. Baum spoke about his experiences, juggling everyone’s wants and opinions while keeping it all together and doing what he believed was right.

“You don’t always agree with things that people tell you, but you have to let at least them feel heard.”

Providing free textbook materials to students is incredibly important for lowering college education costs. Still, more can be done on an individual level to reduce the financial burden. Baum discusses the importance of professors making conscious decisions, as they don’t always consider students’ needs.

“I would love more faculty to think about what burdens they’re placing on their students when they’re assigning a book for the class,” Baum says. “Can we make more of those decisions that make things easier for students?”

Increasing the efficiency of degree pathways and college classes is also a key component of ensuring that students don’t pay more than they have to for their education. Too often, students are stuck taking an extra year of college because only a limited number of their classes count for credit. It’s an issue that has plagued community college students for many years, culminating in what is ultimately a waste of time and money for everyone, not just students. Making the transfer process more streamlined is also an important issue because too many students are wasting their hard-earned time and money taking classes that they don’t need. Baum and the state board of governors negotiated transfer agreements with colleges across California to make the transfer process easier for students, so they don’t have to spend so much time worrying about and deciphering which classes will actually help them transfer on time.

Silver reminded, “PCC students also get an incredible deal on a transit pass. Pasadena City College is partnering with Metro and offers a GoPass for $7.00 per semester. This transit pass allows students unlimited rides on LA Metro buses, trains, and several local transit systems across LA County, such as Pasadena Transit, Foothill Transit, Burbank, Santa Monica, Glendale, and more. These passes are ready in students’ portals. All they have to do is log in, grab the activation code, and they have free transportation for a semester.”

“I strongly support California’s Zero Textbook Cost initiative,” says PCC Area 1 Trustee candidate Francis Pollara. “I went to PCC, and I know how quickly the costs of college add up. Today, when some students are struggling with housing and working multiple jobs just to get by, we should do everything we can to remove barriers to their success.”

“PCC has made tremendous progress,” he continued, “with 15 pathways already offered with zero textbook costs and that number expected to reach 24 by the end of this school year. We should build on that progress, not pretend we’re starting from scratch. As a trustee, I’ll fight to reduce financial barriers while preserving academic rigor and trusting our faculty to determine what materials best serve their students. We should be proud of the progress PCC has already made. My focus is on where we go next.”

Baum has called the affordability of higher education a civil rights issue. Students are taking on mountains of debt with little to no guarantees of getting a job after college. Wages are not willing to budge, even as the cost of living and the cost of getting an education are skyrocketing. What Silver, Baum, Pollara, and many others aim to do is prevent people from spending too much on higher education in the first place, keeping future graduates out of debt they most likely won’t be able to pay off for years, if not decades. They all acknowledge the importance of tackling affordability issues at the community college level, which could perhaps expand to more colleges and universities across the state and even the country. Attending community college is the best way to reduce the cost of education, and that earning a certificate is one of the easiest, most affordable ways to increase one’s employability. Earning a certificate in just a year is made possible by community colleges like Pasadena City College, opening up stable career opportunities for those who would rather not pursue a college degree.

Many issues remain to be solved in higher education. The financial state of students nationwide is becoming a pressing concern for students themselves and their families. But while institutions of higher education continue to profit from students’ debt and financial insecurity, people like Silver, Baum and Pollara are challenging the system that keeps young people from reaching their goals by increasing affordability, streamlining the transfer process and helping those who need it most get an education.