Course Grants

Resource Update Grants

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The Teaching Innovation and Program Strategy (TIPS) Instructional Design team is excited to share this grant opportunity for course resource updates. This initiative provides funding for the minor redesign of courses to replace existing paid materials with open educational resources (OER) and free-to-student resources, such as those available at scale through the Auraria Library.

When students are not able to access the materials of a course, they are significantly less likely to succeed. With our shared goal at CU Denver of Making Education Work for All, adoption of open and free-to-student resources is a key avenue of positively influencing our students’ growth by improving access to the materials they need to succeed. 

Grant Overview

TIPS will fund 30 Resource Update Grants; each grant will be for a minor redesign, or 25-33% of the course, to fully integrate open or free-to-student resources, replacing texts that act as barriers for learners who cannot afford or get reliable access to paid resources. The redesign may include updates to existing course outcomes, resources, assignments, assessments, media, and other instructional materials within the course.

The stipend for each awarded grant will be $1350, or the equivalent of one credit hour for a 3 credit course (33%). These funds may be allocated to a single lead faculty member for the course, or if desired, split between multiple faculty who participate in the design. These grants are available to faculty of all ranks and roles, including IRC faculty.

Grant Application Criteria

• Please share all basic information about your course as requested in the application form: number and title, course modality, course duration (traditional or accelerated), planned first offering redesigned course, course description, average/expected class size per section
• Only courses that currently make minimal or no use of OER or other free-to-student resources are eligible

If awarded the grant, we ask grant participants to commit to the following:

• Update the resources, instructional materials, and activities in your course with at least two consultations with a TIPS Instructional Designer. (Note: We can advise on changes to learning outcomes, assignments, pedagogy, scaffolding and sequencing of your course, student workload, and related areas of design. We will not be able to consult on resource selection and efficacy.) 
• Update the course and resources by the next offering of the course
• Collaborate/consult with other faculty who teach sections of the same course to ensure alignment, sharing your work with colleagues so all students can benefit
• Share reflections and results from the update after teaching, in a format of your preference (e.g. debrief with the TIPS ID team) 

Grant Application Deadlines and Contact Information

For questions or more information, please reach out to Jason Drysdale, Director of Program Development for the TIPS Division: [email protected]

Submissions for Resource Update Grants will be accepted until *Friday, December 5th, 2025. Reviews will be completed and grants offered by Friday, December 12th, 2025.

Thank you, sincerely, for the time, energy, and expertise you bring to our university, and to the educational journey of our amazing students. We look forward to receiving your grant application and partnering with you in the redesign of these critically important courses! 

*Deadline extended!

Grant Application Review Process

Grant applications will be reviewed by the TIPS Instructional Design Team using the following rubric: