Open Educational Resources in Colorado
Colorado is leading the way in Open Educational Resources (OER) adoption, which has been shown to foster innovation, reduce costs and boost student success.
Open Educational Resources (OER) are freely available online teaching and learning materials accessible to students, instructors and self-learners. OER textbooks and other learning resources are openly licensed, typically under a Creative Commons License, with the ability for instructors and students to freely retain copies, re-use, revise, remix and share. OER are free, no-cost materials. OER offers provides materials the first day of class, access into the future after the course ends, and the most affordable cost for students of $0.
OER Grant Program
The Colorado OER Grant Program funds the adoption and development of open educational resources at institutions across the state. The OER grant program launched in 2018 with three years of funding from H.B. 18-1331, and then the program was expanded an additional five years through S.B. 21-215. The OER adopted, adapted, or created in the first five cycles of the grant program has saved Colorado students over $50 million in textbook costs to date. Learn more about the impact of the Colorado OER Grant Program in the Transforming Education Practices through Open Educational Resources 2024 Report.
The Request for Proposals for the eighth cycle of grant funding is open. Proposals are due Monday, September 15, 2025. The eighth cycle of the grant program will award $1 million to OER projects. Please contact OER@dhe.state.co.us with any questions.
Annual Colorado OER Conference
Save the date for the 2026 Colorado OER Conference: Friday, May 29 at Arapahoe Community College! Join the Colorado OER Community newsletter to stay updated on all Colorado OER opportunities.
Governor Polis' Zero Textbook Cost Challenge
Governor Polis is re-issuing the Zero Textbook Cost "ZTC" Challenge for Colorado institutions in 2025! In a ZTC program students take classes—and even finish their degree—without ever paying a dime for textbooks. Zero textbook cost "z-degrees" have been developed at institutions across the state, including Colorado State University Pueblo (B.A. Spanish), Colorado Northwestern Community College (A.A. and A.S.), Colorado School of Mines (M.S. mechanical engineering), University of Colorado Denver (B.S. mathematics), and University of Colorado Anschutz and Fort Lewis College (B.S. nursing). Outstanding ZTC faculty, staff, courses, programs, and pathways will be recognized at the next Colorado OER Conference in May 2026. Are you ready to make a difference on your campus? Join the ZTC Challenge to zero-out textbook costs.
Awards totaling $1,000,000 for the seventh year of OER grant awards were approved by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education on December 4, 2024. Nearly half of the funding was awarded to grant projects that will develop zero textbook cost "z-degrees." See awarded projects by grant type below.
Z-degree OER Grants 2025/26
| Project Title | Institution | Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Early Childhood Education Zero Textbook Cost Project Part II | Arapahoe Community College | $39,690.94 |
| Continued Expansion of OER Major Coursework Z-Degree, Business for Creative Industries, BAS Degree Program and Initial Exploration Work for Z-Degree GenEd Certificate | Front Range Community College | $26,203.00 |
| Open Roadrunners Year 7: Developing Zero Textbook Cost Degrees in 2025-26 | Metropolitan State University of Denver | $100,439.00 |
| CNCC: Expanding OER Options (Cohort 7) | Colorado Northwestern Community College | $78,504.00 |
| Staging Success Part II: A ZTC-Degree Pathway for RRCC Theatre Studies | Red Rocks Community College | $46,100.00 |
| Mathematics and Data Science Z-degrees at CU Denver | University of Colorado Denver | $63,413.00 |
| Aims Community College OER Cohort 7 Completion of a Z-degree | Aims Community College | $71,198.00 |
| Lowering textbook costs for undergraduate nursing students: A collaborative project between Fort Lewis College and the University of Colorado College of Nursing | University of Colorado College of Nursing and Fort Lewis College | $103,546.00 |
Collaborative OER Grants 2025/26
| Project Title | Institution | Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Open Horizons: Rural Innovation through CCCS and Open Education | Colorado Community College System | $18,825.00 |
| Building an OER video collection for pre-service and in-service teachers that highlights translanguaging possibilities in K-12 science learning environments | Metropolitan State University of Denver | $49,058.50 |
| Development of the Colorado OER Anatomy Hub | University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus | $76,200.00 |
Small Group OER Grants 2025/26
| Project Title | Institution | Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Advancing Equity: OER Integration in Statistics and Calculus Education | Red Rocks Community College | $25,000.00 |
| Colorado History OER | Community College of Aurora | $10,000 |
| Teaching Climate Change Across the Curriculum - Open Access Climate Resources for Higher Education. | University of Northern Colorado | $19,545.00 |
General Incentive OER Grants 2025/26
| Project Title | Institution | Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Roaring Ahead: Strengthening OER Engagement Among UNC Bears | University of Northern Colorado | $41,160.33 |
| MSU Denver Open Roadrunners: OER incentives for widespread OER adoption in 2025-26 | Metropolitan State University of Denver | $40,582.00 |
| Incentivizing OER Adoption at ACC | Arapahoe Community College | $39,015.94 |
| OERDiggers: Furthering OER Development at Colorado School of Mines | Colorado School of Mines | $40,600.00 |
| General Education OER at CCA: Further Building of Z-Program Pathways | Community College of Aurora | $30,600.00 |
| Enhancing OER Adoption and Implementation at Pikes Peak State College | Pikes Peak State College | $37,446.00 |
Individual & Professional Development OER Grants 2025/26
| Project Title | Institution | Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Preparing Highly Effective Teachers for Diverse Learners: Creating Equitable Access to Inclusive Instruction | University of Northern Colorado | $10,000 |
| Rural Initiative OER Professional Development | Adams State University | $2,603.29 |
| Rural Initiative OER Professional Development | Colorado Mountain College | $2,535.00 |
| Rural Initiative OER Professional Development | Colorado Mesa University | $3,342.00 |
| Rural Initiative OER Professional Development | Lamar Community College | $2,616.00 |
| Rural Initiative OER Professional Development | Morgan Community College | $2,024.00 |
| Rural Initiative OER Professional Development | Northeastern Junior College | $2,200.00 |
| Rural Initiative OER Professional Development | Otero College | $2,212.00 |
| Rural Initiative OER Professional Development | Technical College of the Rockies | $3,472.00 |
| Rural Initiative OER Professional Development | Trinidad State College | $3,228.00 |
| Rural Initiative OER Professional Development | Western Colorado University | $3,186.00 |
2024-25 Grantee Cohort #6
The Colorado Department of Higher Education awarded its sixth round of grant awards. Awards totaling $1,000,000 were approved by the CCHE in March of 2024. Read more in the 2025 OER Report.
2023-24 Grantee Cohort #5
The Colorado Department of Higher Education awarded its fifth round of grant awards. Awards totaling $960,018 were approved by the CCHE in March of 2023. Read more in the 2024 OER Report.
2022-23 Grantee Cohort #4
The Colorado Department of Higher Education awarded its fourth round of grant awards. Awards totaling $968,803 were approved by the CCHE in March of 2022. Read more in the 2023 OER Report.
2021-22 Grantee Cohort #3
The Colorado Department of Higher Education awarded its third round of grant awards. Awards totaling $875,000 were approved by the CCHE in March of 2021. Read more in the 2022 OER Report.
2020-21 Grantee Cohort #2
$1 million was awarded for 35 different Open Education grantees, from individual faculty initiatives to institutional and inter-institutional projects in February 2020. Read more in the 2021 OER Report.
2019-20 Cohort #1
The Colorado Department of Higher Education awarded nearly $550,000 to power 20 groundbreaking OER Grantees that reflect the diversity of OER innovation. Read about the first cohort of grantees in the 2019 OER Report and 2020 OER Report.
2025-26 Colorado Open Education Resources Council
In the 2017 session, the Colorado legislature passed and the Governor signed Senate Bill 17-258, which creates the Open Educational Resources Council. This statewide body is charged to develop a plan for resources to benefit college and K-12 students throughout Colorado.
Please email OER@dhe.state.co.us with questions regarding the council.
| Name | Institution | |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Dyhr, Chair | Metropolitan State University Denver | jdyhr@msudenver.edu |
| Nicholas Swails, Vice Chair | Colorado Northwestern Community College | Nicholas.Swails@cncc.edu |
| Rebecca Blickhahn | Student Representative, CSU Pueblo | rc.blickhahn@pack.csupueblo.edu |
| Mitch Cota | Arapahoe Community College | mitch.cota@arapahoe.edu |
| Rebecka Cranwell | Northeastern Junior College | rebecka.cranwell@njc.edu |
| Jennifer DeBoer | Western Colorado University | jdeboer@western.edu |
| Medora Huseby | Colorado State University | medora.huseby@colostate.edu |
| Karen Kammerling | Colorado Mountain College | kkaemmerling@coloradomtn.edu |
| Nancy Henke | University of Northern Colorado | nancy.henke@unco.edu |
| Patrick Mundt | Colorado College | pmundt@coloradocollege.edu |
| Elia Trucks | University of Denver | elia.trucks@du.edu |
| Katie Brown | Colorado State University Pueblo | katherine.brown@csupueblo.edu |
| Amanda Hardman | Colorado Community College System | amanda.hardman@cccs.edu |
| Allyson Turner | Community College of Aurora | allyson.turner@ccaurora.edu |
| Ellie Svoboda | University of Colorado Anschutz | ellie.svoboda@cuanschutz.edu |
State Designees
| Name | Institution | |
|---|---|---|
| Renne Barnes | Colorado State Library | barnes_r@cde.state.co.us |
| Mallorie Klemm | Colorado Department of Education | klemm_m@cde.state.co.us |
| Chealsye Bowley | Colorado Department of Higher Education | chealsye.bowley@dhe.state.co.us |
OER Council meetings are typically held on the first Friday of the month from 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM on Zoom. 2025-2026 Council meetings are Fridays August 8, September 5, October 3, November 7, December 5, January 9, February 6, March 6, April 3, May 1, and June 5. Council meetings are open to the public and can be joined via Zoom. The October meeting will close to the public at 11:30 for grant review.
The agenda and notes from the August 2025 to June 2026 OER Council meetings are available online. The OER Council does not meet in July.
2025 Exceptional OER Team
Los Valientes Los Valientes (Dr. Alegría Ribadeneira, Dr. Katherine Brown, Jorge Arroyo and Tatiana Johnston) are a group of exceptional Spanish professors from Colorado State University - Pueblo, who embarked on a three-year journey to realize the first z-degree in Colorado. They code-named themselves “Los Valientes” (the valiant ones) because of their bravery and determination in taking on the task in transforming the Spanish bachelor's of arts to zero textbook cost.
2025 Exceptional OER Project
CU Denver Math Z-degrees Team The math z-degrees team is formed of instructors from the University of Colorado Denver Mathematics and Statistical Sciences Department: Troy Butler, Joshua French, Adam Spiegler, Stephen Hartke, Yaning Liu, Pamela Whitten, Robert Rostermundt, Daniel Klie, Yongxia Kuang. Together they are creating zero textbook paths for bachelor's of science in mathematics, mathematics minor, and the data science certificate.
2025 Exceptional OER Creation
Everflow Mandarin Yingjie Li, Runqing Qi, and Yu Zhang (University of Colorado Boulder) co-authored 开源中文 EverFlow Mandarin: An intermediate-advanced level OER Chinese Textbook. The textbook emphasizes discourse-level reading instruction by incorporating seven reading strategies, blending intensive and extensive reading instruction and learning objectives. The OER textbook has already been adopted beyond Colorado with Lake Forest College using the textbook since Fall 2024.
2025 Exceptional OER Partner
mitch cota, Reference and OER Librarian, Arapahoe Community College; and Seth Vuletich, Scholarly Communications Librarian, Colorado School of Mines are recognized for their foundational support and tireless advocacy for open educational resources. Supportive partnership is too often not recognized and have earned these recipients a double award in this inaugural award year. mitch and Seth's work as partners in OER is critical to the advances ACC and Mines have made toward in OER adoption and zero textbook cost initiatives.
2025 Colorado OER Champion
Jen Mayer, Interim Associate Dean, University of Northern Colorado Libraries, is the 2025 Colorado OER Champion. Nominator Nancy Henke, Textbook Affordability Librarian, wrote: "Jen Mayer is more than an advocate—she is a builder. She has laid a foundation for OER growth at UNC and across Colorado that will benefit students and faculty for years to come.”
Awards were voted on by the Colorado OER Council, which is made up of 5 faculty, 3 librarians, 1 administrator, 1 instructional designer, 1 IT professional, and 1 student from 11 public institutions; 2 private college representatives; and designees from CDHE, CDE and the State Library. Councilmembers who were nominated were recused from voting in their category. 2026 Colorado OER Award nominations will open in spring 2026.
Governor’s Award for Outstanding Workforce Z Degree
CU & FLC Nursing Z-degree The University of Colorado College of Nursing at the Anschutz Medical Campus and Fort Lewis College are collaboratively transforming the undergraduate nursing program into a zero textbook cost degree. This z-degree is the first collaborative effort between two institutions and the first targeted at workforce development. The work is funded by the Colorado OER grant program. The nursing z-degree will increase affordability and retention of the nursing program, expand the nursing workforce in Colorado to match our diverse patient population, provide more culturally congruent care, and supply innovative solutions to nursing shortages in rural areas of the state.
Governor’s Award for Institutional Advancement to ZTC: CNCC Starting Fall 2025, Colorado Northwestern Community College will offer a zero textbook cost degree in both associate of arts and associate of science degrees. The A.A. and A.S. z-degrees will utilize OER exclusively, eliminating textbook costs for students pursuing in-person associate degrees at the rural community college. CNCC offered no OER courses five years ago and has been able to transform complete degree programs to zero textbook cost through the state’s OER grant program. This work has been coordinated by Nicholas Swails and Todd Ward. CNCC’s commitment to OER has saved students over $500,000 to date, resulting in a grant fund return on investment over 200%.