Diablo Valley College Honored With Statewide Exemplary Program Award

PLEASANT HILL, CA — Diablo Valley College was honored by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors with a 2024-2025 Exemplary Program Award for its outstanding efforts in expanding free, open-source textbooks and instructional materials for students.

The Exemplary Program Award, which went to one other college this year, Coalinga, was established in 1991 by the Board of Governors and the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to recognize, support and embrace exceptional community college programs.

"Congratulations to Coalinga College and Diablo Valley College for broadening access to materials students need but may not be able to afford. This important work is helping to break down barriers for underserved students, ensuring that education remains within reach for all," said Board President Hildegarde B. Aguinaldo.

The award is sponsored by the Foundation for California Community Colleges, and the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges selects annual themes. This year’s theme is Integrating, Advancing, and Sustaining Open Educational Resources (OER) for Access and Equity.

"Open Educational Resources play a vital role in making learning materials accessible and affordable for students, a key priority for the Board of Governors," said Chancellor Sonya Christian. "We are proud of the innovative efforts at Coalinga College, which simplify the adoption of open resources for instructors, and at Diablo Valley College, where grants are being used to expand program sections and save students money on textbooks. These initiatives are advancing our system's progress toward achieving the goals outlined in California Community Colleges’ Vision 2030."

"The programs at Coalinga College and Diablo Valley College show their strong dedication to ensuring all students, regardless of their background, have the opportunity to succeed," said Cheryl Aschenbach, president of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. "The programs also highlight the colleges’ focus on creative solutions and strategies, including leveraging funding opportunities and support made possible by the Legislature, Chancellor’s Office, and Academic Senate. In a world where equity is essential, these efforts give students a chance to thrive. We couldn’t be more proud of the impact being made."

The awards were presented at the Jan. 14 Board of Governors meeting in Sacramento. Following are summaries of the awardees’ excellence.

Diablo Valley College

The OER@DVC at Diablo Valley College (DVC) is a program aimed at reducing and eliminating textbook costs to achieve inclusive and equitable student excellence. Led by Andrea Sorce and Lindsey Shively, the program has been instrumental in transforming the culture of curriculum development at DVC by promoting OER and Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) sections. Through strategic use of grants, such as a $60,000 LibreText grant and an $860,000 California ZTC Program grant, the program has saved students significant amounts per semester and expanded ZTC sections. The initiative also focuses on outreach, relationship-building, and districtwide collaboration, creating the Districtwide OER Council (DOERC) to unify efforts across the district.

Coalinga College

The Coalinga College Library, led by OER Librarian Heather M. Evans, was developed to address the college's low OER adoption rate of 10%, which was significantly below the state average of 29%. The program implemented a comprehensive three-pronged approach: an Information Blitz to conduct extensive faculty outreach; Easy On-Ramps to OER by partnering with LibreTexts and others which helped simplify adoption for adjunct instructors and streamlining students' experiences; and a project management approach with integrated support. This approach resulted in an 85% full-time faculty adoption rate and over 50% of Coalinga's transfer sections using OER by the following fall semester.

Honorable Mentions

Honorable mentions went to Lemoore College and MiraCosta College in northern San Diego County.

Lemoore College was honored for its #OERevolution program which has expanded 24 zero textbook cost degree and certificate pathways.

MiraCosta College was recognized for its Sociology Department ZTC/OER Program which increased its ZTC sections from 21.6% in Fall 2017 to 77% in Fall 2024.

The Exemplary Program Awards recognize efforts that show evidence of overall success; contribute to faculty engagement; respond to the needs of students, faculty, and the college; work in concert with other programs or the community; provide evidence of supporting the community colleges’ mission; and can be used as models for other community colleges.