In higher education, the cost of textbooks and learning resources can often be a barrier to students’ academic success. CU Denver is committed to finding ways to offer low- or no-cost options. To support this focus, the university recently received a $5,000 open educational resources (OER) grant to help faculty revise and expand a digital music techniques class website so that students can more easily access course materials online for free.
The Colorado Commission on Higher Education grant supports CU Denver’s vision to make education work for all by investing in OER, defined as public-domain or open-license teaching, learning, and research materials available for free use, adaptation, or redistribution by faculty and staff.
Now in its sixth year, the state’s OER grant program has helped save Colorado students more than $31.5 million on textbook costs and transformed more than 1,600 courses, according to a press release. “No one should have to pay hundreds of dollars for textbooks for just one course,” Gov. Jared Polis said in the release. “Colorado is breaking down barriers to free, open-source textbooks that can be even better than costly commercial ones.”
At CU Denver, faculty have successfully secured several grants in this area. In addition to the aforementioned $5,000 grant, they received a $68,671 grant to explore Mathematics and Data Science “z-degrees”—degrees that would require zero textbook costs or materials.
Ronica Rooks, professor in the Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences, co-chairs CU Denver’s OER Committee. Her OER work is fostered by her administrative role as the CLAS Director of Online Education, with the support of Dean Pam Jansma and Associate Dean Rich Allen. She said that these grants spread the word about OER opportunities, which can help make higher education more affordable for our students and can increase representation in educational materials because faculty and students can revise, edit, and adapt materials in real-time. “I like the cost savings for students, but I also like the fact that we can make the materials more in the images of our students,” Rooks said. “Students have the ability to remix the materials.”
The CU Denver OER Committee is charged with recommending and implementing activities, tools, and incentives to promote the use of OER across campus. CU Denver faculty and staff can also obtain support for OER through the Center for Faculty Development and Advancement (CFDA)—which has organized a Sept. 11 OER 101 workshop for faculty and staff—and through the Auraria Library, which staffs librarians with OER expertise who can provide tailored counsel on strategies for integrating OER into your courses.
Rooks said that adopting OER principles may require faculty to retrofit their class materials but that the state grants help offset costs.
Ultimately, the time investment pays dividends by making education work for all. That, Rooks said, is why OER is such a powerful tool for educators. “It’s beneficial for faculty to work on things more collaboratively with their students to make students feel more invested in the classroom,” she said. “They see encouraging materials or are led to search for materials themselves to adapt, adopt, and create.”
Three Reasons to Adopt Open Educational Resources….and Three Ways to Learn More About How to Do That
Why You Should Use OER:
Save students money on textbooks
Practice a more open pedagogy where you can collaborate on chapters, infographics, and articles with your students
Develop better representation in teaching materials through that collaboration
How You Can Learn More About OER:
Visit the TIPS OER webpage for information, workshop details, and more
RSVP for the Sept. 11 OER 101 workshop hosted by the CFDA and Auraria Library.
Apply for a State of Colorado grant! Program proposals are due on Monday, Sept. 16.