Colorado Community College System Awarded $163,000 in Open Educational Resources Grant Funding

Funding to support the CCCS mission of providing an accessible and responsive learning environment for all

The Colorado Commission on Higher Education recently approved $550,000 in grant funding for Open Educational Resources (OER) projects throughout the state. Of that total amount, CCCS colleges and CCCOnline received $163,000. This funding will help decrease education costs for students by providing low or no-cost textbooks and other digital content.

“CCCS is committed to improving college access and affordability for all Coloradans,” said CCCS Chancellor Joe Garcia. “The growing use of OER for both online and face-to-face learning improves our ability to reduce one of the greatest financial barriers to higher education.”

The $163,000 in funds from the Colorado Commission on Higher Education are made up of six institutional grants, one small group grant, and two travel fund grants.

Funded projects include:

• English Composition OER creation and adoption awarded to Front Range Community College

• Large-scale OER initiatives funding awarded to Arapahoe Community College, Community College of Denver, Pueblo Community College, Pikes Peak Community College, and Red Rocks Community College

• gT Pathways curation for the Top 40 highest enrollment courses across Colorado Community College System awarded to CCCOnline

• Northeastern Junior College and Trinidad State Junior College were awarded travel funds to attend the inaugural OER Convening and OTN Training to be held in May 2019

Just in time for OER Week

The grant funding comes just ahead of OER Week, March 4-8. Throughout the week, CCCS will raise awareness about the positive impact OER has on the cost of higher education. The average college student spends around $1,200 on textbooks each year and, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, textbook costs have increased 900% since 1980. Through free, publicly available OER, CCCS is directly combatting expensive textbooks, saving students across Colorado millions of dollars annually.

The Colorado OER Grant Program, in association with the Colorado OER Council and the Colorado Department of Higher Education, was established to support a significant increase in the use of OER in public institutions of higher education. The ultimate goal is to raise student rates of retention and completion while lowering the cost of postsecondary education.

CCCS will share more information and success stories during OER week in March. To learn more about OER at CCCS, visit cccs.edu.