Open Educational Resources

C.R.S. tit. 23, art. 4.5
in effect

C.R.S. § 23-4.5-101 Legislative declaration

23-4.5-101. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds that: (a) Student expenditures on textbooks and other educational materials represent a significant portion of student educational costs, adding up to, on average, an additional twenty-two percent above the cost of tuition and fees for a first-year community college student. Research concerning the use of open educational resources indicates the use of these resources results in significant savings for students. (b) Research also indicates that, because of the cost of textbooks and other materials, students often do not buy textbooks or course materials, resulting in poor academic performance, including failing course grades. Other studies indicate that students take fewer courses or drop courses because of the cost of textbooks and materials, extending the time to graduation. (c) Several institutions of higher education across the country have begun participating in open educational resources consortia that make textbooks, course activities, and readings available to students online for no cost, resulting in significant student savings. States and institutions are also beginning to offer entire courses, sections, and even degrees that are branded as having zero textbook costs. (2) The general assembly finds, therefore, that it is appropriate to establish the Colorado open educational resources council to recommend statewide policies concerning promoting the use of open educational resources, facilitate knowledge sharing and professional development to increase and support the statewide use of open educational resources, and implement a statewide grant program for public institutions of higher education, faculty, and staff to create and expand the use of open educational resources. (3) (a) The general assembly finds that, since the open educational resources council was established in 2018 and the council began recommending grant recipients: (I) Open educational resources practices and philosophy have expanded to public institutions throughout the state and educators have adopted innovative methods of teaching and reinvigorating curricula; and (II) The number of courses that use open educational resources has significantly increased, saving students almost four million dollars in textbook costs, thereby improving student equity in higher education and leading to increased student success. (b) The general assembly finds, therefore, that it is in the best interests of the state to continue and expand the open educational resources grant program to support the continued creation and use of open educational resources for individual courses and to support the creation and replication of zero-textbook-cost degree programs.

C.R.S. § 23-4.5-102 Definitions

23-4.5-102. Definitions. As used in this article 4.5, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Commission" means the Colorado commission on higher education created in section 23-1-102. (2) "Council" means the Colorado open educational resources council created in section 23-4.5-103. (3) "Department" means the department of higher education created in section 24-1-114. (4) "Executive director" means the executive director of the department of higher education. (5) "Grant program" means the open educational resources grant program created in section 23-4.5-104. (6) "Open educational resources" means high-quality teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits free use and repurposing by others. Open educational resources may include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, faculty-created content, streaming videos, exams, software, and other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge. (7) "Public institution of higher education" means the state institutions of higher education, as defined in section 23-18-102 (10)(a), the local district colleges, and the area technical colleges. (8) "Zero-textbook-cost degree program" means a postsecondary credential or degree program that does not require a student to pay textbook costs but requires the student to use only open educational resources or other resources that are entirely free to the student.

C.R.S. § 23-4.5-103 Colorado open educational resources council - created - duties - report

23-4.5-103. Colorado open educational resources council - created - duties - report. (1) There is created in the department of higher education the Colorado open educational resources council, which is composed of the following members: (a) Twelve persons from public institutions of higher education appointed by the executive director as follows: (I) Five faculty members; (II) Three library professionals; (III) One person enrolled as a student at a public institution of higher education; (IV) One instructional design expert; (V) One informational technology expert; and (VI) One administrator; (b) The executive director of the department, or his or her designee; (c) The commissioner of education appointed pursuant to section 1 (2) of article IX of the state constitution, or his or her designee; and (d) The person executing the duties of the state librarian, if different from the commissioner of education as provided in section 24-90-104, or his or her designee. (2) (a) The term of service for the appointed members of the council is three years. The executive director may appoint the same person to serve multiple, consecutive terms. (b) The executive director shall appoint the members of the council by July 1, 2018, taking into account any nominations received from the public institutions of higher education. In appointing the members of the council, the executive director shall ensure that the council includes at least three representatives from two-year public institutions of higher education and at least three representatives from four-year public institutions of higher education, including research universities. To the extent practicable, the executive director shall appoint persons from areas throughout the state who are representative of the demographics of the state. (3) The executive director shall convene the first meeting of the council as soon as practicable after the council members are appointed, but no later than August 30, 2018. At the first meeting and annually thereafter, the council members shall select a member to serve as chair of the council and a member to serve as vice-chair of the council. The council shall meet as often as necessary at the call of the chair to complete its duties. (4) The members of the council serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in serving on the council, as determined by the department. The department shall provide staff and resources to support the council in completing its duties and to assist the public institutions of higher education throughout the state in developing and expanding the use of open educational resources. In exercising its duties, the council may consult with persons who represent institutions of higher education that are not represented on the council and with other persons who have expertise that is helpful to the council. (5) The council has the following duties: (a) To recommend to the commission statewide policies for promoting adaptation, creation, and use of open educational resources at public institutions of higher education across the state; ersons who represent institutions of higher education that are not represented on the council and with other persons who have expertise that is helpful to the council. (5) The council has the following duties: (a) To recommend to the commission statewide policies for promoting adaptation, creation, and use of open educational resources at public institutions of higher education across the state; (b) To facilitate professional development and the sharing of knowledge concerning creating and using open educational resources for public institutions of higher education, faculty, staff, and students, which may include: (I) Developing informational materials about open educational resources to distribute to public institutions of higher education across the state for use and adaptation as appropriate; (II) Creating and maintaining a website to link to the materials that the council develops, other open educational resources, and any existing institutional open educational resources databases; and (III) Convening regular meetings, which may include convening open educational resources interest groups to share information and ideas, including through meetings, workshops, conferences, webinars, and an annual open educational resources conference for higher education faculty, instructional designers, librarians, campus administrators, secondary educators who teach concurrent enrollment courses, and other relevant staff; (c) To implement the open educational resources grant program created in section 23-4.5-104 and ensure that faculty and students at public institutions of higher education across the state can easily identify and access the open educational resources developed using grant money; (d) To advise the department concerning allocation of the money appropriated for the purposes of this article 4.5 to pay the costs of the grant program, convening interest groups, and providing staff support; and (e) To work with the department to prepare an annual report concerning the use of open educational resources at the public institutions of higher education in the state, as described in section 23-1-134 (3). (6) The general assembly may annually appropriate to the department such amount as it deems appropriate for the purposes specified in this article 4.5, including the grant program. Any unexpended and unencumbered money from an appropriation made for the purposes of this article 4.5 remains available for expenditure by the department for the purposes of this article 4.5 in the next fiscal year without further appropriation.

C.R.S. § 23-4.5-104 Open educational resources grant program - created - report

23-4.5-104. Open educational resources grant program - created - report. (1) There is created in the department of higher education the open educational resources grant program to provide funding for public institutions of higher education, faculty, and staff to create and expand the use of open educational resources across institutions around the state. The grant program consists of grants to: (a) Public institutions of higher education to support creating, adapting, and promoting the use of open educational resources at the institution or on a campus; (b) Faculty and staff of public institutions of higher education, individually or in small groups, to support the creating, adapting, and promoting of open educational resources; and (c) Public institutions of higher education to support the development, implementation, and replication of zero-textbook-cost degree programs. In recommending recipients of a grant for this purpose, the council shall prioritize high-demand industry credential programs and high-enrollment degree programs such as information technology programs, health care, and business. (2) (a) The council, working with the department, shall develop timelines and procedures by which public institutions of higher education, faculty, and staff may apply for a grant, including the information that must be included in an application and the deadlines for submitting applications. (b) An application for an institutional grant may include: (I) Evidence of the existence of an open educational resources council or committee at the applying institution or campus; (II) Identification of library, instructional design, and administrative staffing to support the open educational resources initiative for which a grant is requested; (III) The manner in which the courses that use open educational resources will be identified for students prior to the time, and at the point, of course registration, which may include identification in the schedule of classes; (IV) A plan for expanding the adoption of open educational resources across the campus or institution that receives the grant, which may include awarding grants to faculty members, reducing a faculty member's required teaching hours, or providing other incentives to faculty for adapting and developing open educational resources; (V) The manner in which the grant recipient will evaluate the success of the open educational resources initiative; and (VI) A plan for and commitment to sustaining the open educational resources initiative after the grant is completed. (c) An application for a faculty or staff grant, whether individual or small group, may include: (I) Information concerning the textbooks and other materials in use at the time the grant is received, the costs of the textbooks and materials, and how the applicant expects to use the grant money to adapt or develop open educational resources to replace the textbooks and other materials; (II) The manner in which the grant recipients will evaluate the use of the open educational resources developed using the grant, including the number of students who are affected and the cost savings to students as a result of the open educational resources developed using the grant; and (III) The plan for ensuring that open educational resources that are adapted or developed using the grant money are publicized and made available to other faculty and students within the public institution of higher education and other public institutions of higher education. are affected and the cost savings to students as a result of the open educational resources developed using the grant; and (III) The plan for ensuring that open educational resources that are adapted or developed using the grant money are publicized and made available to other faculty and students within the public institution of higher education and other public institutions of higher education. (3) (a) The council shall review the grant applications received and recommend to the commission applicants to which the commission may choose to award grants and the amount of each grant. Subject to available appropriations, the commission shall award grants through the grant program. The commission shall take into account, but is not bound by, the recommendations of the council. In making recommendations and awarding grants, the council and the commission shall consider whether the application: (I) Affects courses with high student enrollment or high textbook or materials costs; (II) Affects high-impact courses such as the core courses described in section 23-1-125 (3) or courses included in concurrent enrollment agreements entered into pursuant to article 35 of title 22; and (III) Supports adaptation or development of open educational resources by teams of faculty, librarians, and instructional designers within a public institution of higher education or across multiple institutions, making it more likely that the resources will be used in multiple courses or sections. (b) The commission shall adopt guidelines to address potential conflicts of interest for members of the council that may arise in recommending applicants to receive grants. (4) Each grant recipient, as a condition of receiving the grant, must: (a) Submit to the department data concerning the number of students affected by open educational resources developed or adapted using the grant, the estimated amount of student savings that results from using the open educational resources, and measures of the effectiveness of the grant project; (b) Agree to openly license and share, under the broadest possible license, any open educational resources developed or adapted using the grant; (c) Agree to comply with the guidelines and parameters adopted by the council pursuant to subsection (6) of this section for implementing the grants; (d) Post new or adapted open educational resources to an open repository in editable file formats or with source code; and (e) Comply with the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990", 42 U.S.C. sec. 12101 et seq., as amended, to enable persons with disabilities to access the open educational resources developed or adapted using the grant. (5) The council shall work with the department to prepare an annual report concerning implementation and development of open educational resources around the state, as described in section 23-1-134 (3). (6) The council shall adopt guidelines and parameters by which grant recipients must implement the grant-funded open educational resources initiatives to ensure that the impact on students of the initiatives may be consistently measured and compared across public institutions of higher education.

C.R.S. § 23-4.5-106 Repeal of article

23-4.5-106. Repeal of article. This article 4.5 is repealed, effective November 1, 2026.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-23.docxFetched: 10/6/2026

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