Three UNC Projects Earn Open Education Grants

Statewide, the program awarded more than $1 million to projects that reduce the cost of course materials for Colorado students.

Now in its seventh year, Colorado’s OER Grant Program funds educators and institutions developing high-quality, zero-cost learning materials. This year’s awards will support 28 projects across the state and are projected to save students more than $3 million in textbook costs.

Three UNC faculty members received funding in this highly competitive cycle:

Kristin Kang, Department of Mathematical Sciences, College of Natural and Health Sciences

Kang received support to advance several zero-textbook-cost (ZTC) degree pathways in Pure and Applied Mathematical Sciences, Data Science and Statistics, the Data Analytics Certificate, and the Computer Programming Certificate. These ZTC pathways will allow students to complete their programs using free, openly licensed materials, and they represent the first z-degrees at the University of Northern Colorado.

Kim Murza, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Natural and Health Sciences

Murza, in collaboration with a colleague at Metropolitan State University of Denver, will create an OER workbook designed for pre-service teachers and speech-language pathologists (SLPs). The resource will provide a strengths-based framework for supporting students’ communicative engagement in inclusive settings. Once published, the workbook will be freely available to educators and SLPs across Colorado.

Nancy A. Henke, Scholarly Communication Department, University Libraries

Henke received a general incentive grant that will expand OER support across campus. Funding will provide faculty stipends for creating or adopting OER, support a day-long professional development workshop, and strengthen UNC’s broader affordability initiatives through OER-related outreach and education.

Since 2018, faculty at UNC have received twelve state OER grants totaling more than $526,000, supporting dozens of projects that improve access to learning materials. In the 2024-25 academic year alone, no-cost course materials saved UNC students more than $319,000 and impacted more than 5,900 course enrollments across 242 sections that used zero-cost materials.

The reach of UNC’s OER initiatives continues to grow each year. In Fall 2024, 90% of new, first-time students had at least one class with no-cost materials, reflecting the university’s progress toward broader affordability and access. In addition to reducing the financial burden of higher education, OER use at UNC has been shown to improve student outcomes, including higher passing and completion rates – results that echo national research on open education.

This year’s funding continues UNC’s tradition of innovative, student-centered work that reduces costs while enriching classroom teaching and learning.

UNC faculty and staff interested in OER or zero-cost teaching materials can connect with the University Libraries’ Textbook Affordability initiatives for support.