Assignment Guidelines

ZTC assignments are self-contained, self-directed, college-level projects.

ZTC students voluntarily undertake assignments by adding them to their profile as either "Current" or "Completed." MAGEs can also add "Completed" assignments to their profiles.

Zero Tuition College operates on an assignment honor system: no one checks whether you've actually done an assignment or not. (There's no point in faking your accomplishments at ZTC because we don't offer degrees.) We do, however, recommend that students document their assignment work with "deliverables" (see explanation on right) that they share with the ZTC community (and later, add to their portfolios).

Both students and MAGEs may submit an assignment. If you don't see an assignment that you want, please submit it! And if you've previously done a great project/assignment that fits the following guidelines, then please share it!

Every ZTC assignment should:

• Push the student's comfort zones
• Build competency or self-knowledge
• Be at least a little bit fun--not dry and boring!

What are the coolest assignments that you wish college would give you (or that you actually got in college)? That's what we're looking for.

Deliverables

Every ZTC assignment should produce a useful product that the student can easily share with the world. We call this a deliverable. Deliverables provide evidence of the work that the student has done. This is important because ZTC students don't rely upon degrees to prove their competency; they rely upon direct evidence of their work.

The deliverables that we recommend are:

Blog entry: write a story about completing the assignment and publish it on your blog

Photos: take photos during the assignment and publish them online

Video: take video during the assignment and publish it online

Publish on its own website: create a website to share the assignment's products

Publish on Scribd: publish a piece of writing or slideshow on Scribd.com

Other: suggest your own deliverable

Example Deliverables:

Publish a paper, story, or short book on Scribd

Publish a paper, story, or short book as a PDF

Publish a project website with videos

Create an informational (and perhaps funny) video on YouTube or Vimeo

Create a photoblog

Create a photography portfolio

Tell a story with a blog

ZTC Member Deliverables

You can find user-submitted ZTC deliverables listed (1) at the bottom of assignment pages and (2) under the "Completed assignments" heading on student & MAGE profile.

Ingredients of an Assignment

Scope -

We strive for assignments are both concrete (providing clear, specific instructions) and broad enough to accompany a full range of student interests. For example,

• "Travel to India and Shake the Dalai Lama's Hand" is concrete, but not broad enough. The student knows what to do, but few students will want to do this.


• "See the World" is broad enough, but not concrete. Many students will want to do this, but it's not clearly defined.


• "Volunteer in a Foreign Country" is in the sweet spot.

Title - A one-sentence description. Start with an action verb and clearly state the goal.

Good example: "Interview a favorite author".
Poor example: "Interviewing".

Category - Choose the category that best describes the assignment:

• Deliberate practice: intense, goal-directed, feedback-heavy practice with a MAGE, typically one-on-one or small group (learn more here)
• Enterprise creation: assignment that builds an organization or event
• Field research: assignment that gathers real-world data about an interest
• Internship: assignment involving employed work, either paid or unpaid
• Reading & Composition: assignment focused on reading and/or writing
• Resource creation: assignment that creates a tangible resource for other people to use
• Self-Reflection: introspective assignment that build self-knowledge
• World Exploration: assignment that exposes the student to new people, places, cultures, etc.
• Other: another category. (Suggest a new category)

Brief Overview - A Twitter-length description (140 characters) of the assignment. This is your chance to "hook" students with an exciting summary. Let them know what they're getting themselves into.

Background & Instructions - Relevant background information and concrete instructions for making the assignment happen.

Suggested Deliverable - How can the student evidence their work in a shareable way? Deliverables should be easily added to a student's online portfolio.

Websites, Reading & Resources - What books, websites, articles, videos, and people inspired you to write this assignment? What resources will help the student to complete the assignment? List them here.

Anticipated Cost - How much will this all cost?

We Want Your Assignment

Assignments are the meat and potatoes of the ZTC experience. Please take a moment to submit an assignment that you find compelling. It might make a world of difference in someone's life.