Colorado Considers Bill to Renew Leading OER Grant Program

Pictured back to front: Brian Healy (MSU), Jon Dyhr (MSU), Caitlin Fine (MSU), Emily Ragan (MSU), Chealsye Bowley, (Colorado Dept. of Higher Ed.), Mallory Reiswig (MSU student), Doug Watkins (Denver Public Schools).

Lawmakers in Colorado have introduced legislation to renew the state's highly successful Open Educational Resources grant program for another five years. House Bill 26-1016 was heard by the House Education Committee on Thursday, January 29th. Thanks to strong testimony from open education advocates across the state, the committee voted to advance the bill to the next stage. The Open Education Association sent a letter of support in advance of the hearing and will monitor the bill’s progression.

Colorado's OER grant program has become a national model for state-level support of open education. The program awards approximately $1 million annually to public institutions across the state, helping faculty adopt, adapt, and create openly licensed educational materials that students can access without cost. Since the program began, Colorado institutions have converted more than 2,200 courses to use open educational resources, now serving over 176,000 students each year.

The results have been substantial. Students have saved nearly $60 million in textbook costs, representing an 11-to-1 return on state investment. But the program's impact goes beyond individual course savings. Colorado institutions have built 17 complete zero-textbook-cost degree programs in fields like nursing, mathematics, and business, with many more under development. Students can now earn entire credentials in workforce-critical areas without paying for textbooks.

If reauthorized, the program is projected to generate $48 million in student savings by 2031 and more than $110 million by 2035, according to the Colorado Department of Higher Education. These projections are based on the program's historical performance and the zero-textbook-cost programs currently under development.

The association's letter to the committee emphasizes Colorado's role as a national leader in open education and the importance of sustaining the infrastructure and momentum the state has built.