A Z-degree is an associate degree or bachelor's degree that have zero-cost course resources for students. It consists of courses that exclusively use zero-cost course resources, such as:
open educational resources (OER)
open textbooks
library-curated materials
To be considered as Z-degree course, the instructor cannot require students to purchase any course resources. Optional or supplemental resources that are a cost to students may be recommended.
https://www.minnstate.edu/admissions/oer/oer-projects/index.html
